Trump Admin Says ‘Framework’ Reached for U.S. Owners to Take Control of TikTok

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the U.S. has “a framework for a TikTok deal,” suggesting that some kind of agreement is imminent to allow the social media platform to continue operating in the U.S. despite a law passed in 2024 that sought to ban the app or force a sale.

The comments from Bessent came as he and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer took questions from reporters after two days of meetings with Chinese officials in Madrid.

“We believe we have an agreement. It’s just subject to the leader’s approval,” Greer said about the TikTok negotiations specifically.

Greer was asked about whether there would be any further extensions beyond Wednesday’s deadline, and he said that if there were, it would be “some period of time just to get it signed,” but “we’re not going to be in the business of having repetitive extensions.”

There have been repeated extensions, though, despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that there wouldn’t be. Congress passed a law in 2024, signed by President Joe Biden, that said Bytedance is required to sell TikTok to American interests or be banned entirely in the U.S. The first deadline was Jan. 19, but that was extended until April. And then Trump signed an executive order extending it again until June. That was then extended yet again until Sept. 17, which is this Wednesday.

When Bessent was asked by reporters about timing, he deflected but confirmed that the framework involves control by U.S. interests.

“The framework is for it to switch to a U.S.-controlled ownership,” said Bessent. “But again, I’m not going to get ahead of the leaders’ call on Friday. We have a framework. They’ll have to confirm the deal.”

It’s not clear if “U.S.-controlled ownership” would involve some form of U.S. government ownership or just private American ownership. The U.S. recently took a 10% stake in Intel in a highly controversial move.

U.S. negotiators in Spain talked about a range of trade issues, including tariffs and rare earth minerals, in talks Sunday and Monday. The U.S. has placed high tariffs on China (30% on most imported goods), but even higher tariffs (145%) have been paused until November.

President Trump suggested there was a deal even before Bessent talked with reporters Monday, describing a “certain” company in terms that looked like an attempt to be vague while also being incredibly obvious. In one of several posts to Truth Social on Monday morning, Trump did his best wink-wink about TikTok.

“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,” Trump wrote.

“A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!” Trump continued.

Trump was actually the one to first sign an executive order trying to ban TikTok during his first term. But the president pulled a complete one-eighty in March 2024, about eight months before the election. It’s unclear why Trump changed his mind so drastically, but pundits noticed at the time that he had recently spoken with Republican mega-donor Jeff Yass, a billionaire with a big investment in ByteDance.

Bytedance has repeatedly said it’s not interested in selling TikTok, and it’s not clear what exactly is being worked out behind closed doors. Several potential U.S. buyers have come forward, but one of the biggest sticking points is TikTok’s algorithm, which is considered its secret sauce and the reason people become addicted to it.

Without the algorithm, you’ve just got a recognizable name. But if Chinese officials still don’t want the U.S. to have control of the algorithm, it’s unclear where that would leave a potential deal.