Trump suggests new sovereign wealth fund could invest in TikTok, delays Canada and Mexico tariffs

Trump reprieved TikTok from an impending ban two weeks ago

US president Donald Trump has suggested that a newly announced sovereign wealth fund could acquire a stake in Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok.

An executive order signed by Trump on Monday directed the US treasury and commerce departments to create the fund.

It still needs to be approved by Congress but treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the goal is to launch it in the next 12 months.

At the signing ceremony, Trump said: “We might put [TikTok] in the sovereign wealth fund,” at the same time as acknowledging his administration had not decided on how to proceed with the situation around the app.

Two weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order that temporarily stopped TikTok being banned in the US.

That came after the Biden administration last year passed a law meaning the American portion of TikTok had to be sold to a non-Chinese entity or face being shuttered in the US. The law was introduced over concerns that TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, could share information with the Chinese government that violated the privacy of American citizens.

After preventing the TikTok ban, Trump also suggested that he would be interested in seeing a joint-venture ownership structure for the US arm of the app. The social media giant said it would “work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”

On Monday, Trump said he would delay imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico by 30 days while the US attempts to find an economic deal that works for all sides.

It remains unclear how or if Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs would have an impact on the television in business in Canada, but the 30-day extension is viewed as a promising sign that a deal can eventually be reached.