Vice President JD Vance has discussed the likelihood of a high-level deal happening before the April 5 deadline to keep TikTok up and running in the United States.
“There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allowing there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise,” JD Vance said in an interview with NBC News reporters.
On his first day in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order that his administration will find a way to protect national interest without gutting the social media app. He then asked Vance to lead efforts to broker a sale to a US entity before the deadline in April.
JD Vance says the paperwork might push the deal past the deadline
In the executive order, the company had a 75-day window to find a US buyer. With the deadline fast approaching, Vance is already in talks with potential buyers. Trump also previously mentioned that the administration has been in contact with four groups, but Vance did not mention it during his interview.
Vance also added that an extension may also be possible as it looks like the deal may not close in time. As of now, ByteDance, the parent company of the app has no confirmation on negotiations and its plans to sell the app to a US entity. “Typically, some of these deals that are much smaller and involve much less capital take months to close,” Vance said, talking about the deadline.
He added that the administration has been trying to close the deal before the April deadline. One key factor that could cause a delay in the whole process is the paperwork involved in the deal. The deal itself will be very clear, but creating those thousands and thousands of pages of legal documents, that’s the one thing that I worry could slip,” he said.
Vance is hopeful that an extension would not be required. According to him, once the deal is in place, it will satisfy the US national security concerns. In that case, one could argue that “TikTok is operational, and it’s also operational in a way that’s protective of Americans’ data privacy and America’s national security.”