President Donald Trump said on Sunday that China was close to approving a deal for the sale of TikTok but backed out due to the 54 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.
“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok, not a deal but pretty close. And then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they would approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows the power of tariffs.”
Trump announced a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on Chinese imports on April 2, in addition to the 20 percent tariff he imposed earlier this year, bringing the total tariff rate on Chinese imports to 54 percent….