WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that a final agreement concerning TikTok is likely to be completed this week.
Speaking with Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Bessent revealed that the U.S. has solidified a deal concerning the popular social media platform.
“We’ve reached an agreement in Madrid, and I believe that, as of today, all the necessary details have been finalized. The leaders are set to formalize the transaction on Thursday in Korea,” Bessent stated.
While the Treasury Secretary refrained from providing specifics about the agreement, an official announcement is anticipated on Thursday.
This development follows a month after President Donald Trump issued an executive order detailing a plan for TikTok to continue its operations in the U.S. under a new structure with American investors involved.
The news comes a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that outlined a deal to keep the social media platform operating in the U.S. under a new corporate structure with American investors.
It is unknown whether the final deal Bessent announced contains similar agreements.
Chinese and U.S. officials have until Dec. 16 to hash out the details, following the Trump administration’s latest deadline extension.
TikTok is a hugely popular app currently owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. American officials have warned that the algorithm TikTok uses to shape what users see is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.
Congress passed legislation calling for a TikTok ban to go into effect in January, but Trump has repeatedly signed orders that have allowed TikTok to keep operating in the United States as his administration tries to reach an agreement for the social media company’s parent company to sell its U.S. operations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
