A deadline set by the Trump administration for the forced sale of TikTok’s US assets will come and go Friday without a final deal, according to people familiar with the discussions.
While the deadline has been extended multiple times, TikTok isn’t expected to receive a new one, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision isn’t yet public. TikTok is still in talks with the US government about a sale that satisfies the administration’s national security concerns, but Friday’s deadline was allowed to lapse while the discussions continue.
The US Treasury Department told TikTok and Chinese parent company ByteDance that they won’t face a fine or other punishment for missing the deadline because the sides are still negotiating. The deal, which has been in the works for months, is close to being finished, and the administration is eager to complete it before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, according to one of the people.
The fate of TikTok, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times in the US, has been caught up for months in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on Chinese technology companies and their influence in the US. The administration has argued that Americans’ private data gathered through the app could be handed over to the Chinese government, something TikTok has said it would never do.
Mr Trump had ordered in August that the app be sold to an American firm or face a ban in the US. But as the presidential election loomed in November and now with a new president-elect, TikTok seems to have slipped off the top of Trump’s agenda.
Mr Trump gave his blessing in mid-September to a preliminary plan in which ByteDance would sell part of TikTok to Oracle, Walmart and US investors Sequoia Capital, KKR & Co. and General Atlantic, creating a new independent company called TikTok Global. But that deal has been stuck in limbo for months, and was quickly overshadowed by the US election and rising Covid-19 cases.
ByteDance has said its proposal would put American companies and investors in charge of data and content moderation for US users, a key demand of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a panel led by the Treasury Department. The Treasury granted ByteDance its last extension a week ago because the department said it needed time to review a revised submission.
The White House declined to comment. A Treasury spokesperson said Friday night that Cfius was working with ByteDance to finish the divestment to resolve national security concerns.
China also will eventually need to give its blessing to the deal. State media has spoken out against Mr Trump’s order, and a foreign ministry spokesman called it “bullying.”
TikTok has filed multiple challenges against the ban, which are winding their way through the courts, with deadlines in certain proceedings extending past January. Several judges have already blocked the ban from going into effect and the Commerce Department said it would comply with those court rulings as the government appeals.
Those cases could lapse when Mr Biden takes office in January, unless he decides to enforce Mr Trump's ban and defend the previous administration’s orders in court.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
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- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
