By Exec Edge Editorial Staff
This week, the Trump administration celebrated a major victory for American industrial policy: the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel. The deal was restructured to include a “golden share” mechanism, which gave the U.S. government veto power over key strategic decisions while preserving jobs and keeping headquarters in Pittsburgh. The deal also includes a guarantee that the leadership of U.S. Steel will remain American, including the CEO and a majority of board members. Now, as President Trump faces a similarly complex challenge with TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, the Nippon Steel deal may offer a template for resolving one of the most politically charged tech disputes of his second term.
Trump granted a third extension of the TikTok divestiture deadline last week, this time pushing the decision 90 days beyond the previously extended cutoff of June 19. While the Protecting Americans from Foreign-Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) only authorized one 90-day extension beyond its original January 19, 2025, deadline, the administration’s repeated delays point to a preference for a negotiated solution over swift enforcement.
This evolving approach traces back to legislation Biden signed into law on April 24, 2024. Under PAFACA, ByteDance was initially given 270 days to divest from TikTok or face a national ban, with the possibility of a single 90-day extension. But as the divestiture saga stretches well past that window, the White House may have to turn to creative frameworks, such as the “golden share” mechanism used in the Nippon Steel–U.S. Steel deal, to reconcile national security concerns with market realities.
A TikTok adaptation could follow similar principles. Rather than forcing complete ByteDance divestiture, the U.S. could require the creation of a golden share structure governing TikTok’s American operations, potentially including oversight of data management protocols, algorithm modifications affecting U.S. users, and an American CEO of TikTok U.S.
Political Calculations and Conservative Voices
Within Trump’s political orbit, some voices have argued that banning TikTok outright would be strategically counterproductive.
John McEntee, former White House Personnel Director turned conservative TikTok star, has been among the critics of GOP efforts to ban the platform and was perhaps the first in Trump’s orbit to advocate for a pro-TikTok approach.
“It’s a ridiculous self-own that Republicans are trying to ban [TikTok],” McEntee said in an April 2023 interview. “TikTok has been one of the best tools for startups and small business owners in America.”
McEntee’s perspective has increasingly become the dominant one on the right after President Trump embraced TikTok during the last election cycle. TikTok’s value in political messaging has also been picked up on by conservative influencers. Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, was initially skeptical of TikTok. But he has since shifted his position and now supports Trump’s efforts to preserve the app, noting its value in “pushing younger voters to the right.”
Nonetheless, the political dynamics around TikTok remain complex inside the Trump administration.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously called for a complete ban on TikTok, calling it a “spyware” tool for China. Similarly, Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission Chair, has stated that he does “not see a path forward that’s short of a ban” and considers TikTok a “huge national security concern.”
Economic Stakes and Geographic Impact
The economic argument for preserving TikTok operations centers on substantial job and GDP impacts. A 2023 Oxford Economics study estimated the platform contributed more than $24 billion to U.S. GDP and supported over 224,000 American jobs across marketing, music, e-commerce, and creator-driven content sectors.
These economic benefits are concentrated in politically significant battleground states including Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where creator economies depend on TikTok for revenue and audience development. A complete shutdown would eliminate these economic opportunities while potentially alienating voters who view the platform as essential to their businesses.
Beijing remains a critical variable in any potential resolution. China designated TikTok’s algorithm as “protected technology” in 2020, meaning substantial changes to the platform’s core functionality require Chinese government approval.
According to AP News reporting from April, China “hit the brakes” on TikTok deal discussions after Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs, illustrating how broader U.S.-China tensions complicate the negotiation.
The golden share model could potentially work around this issue by establishing operational separation—U.S. data storage, American oversight of content moderation, domestic control of user privacy—while leaving core algorithmic functions intact.
Legal Questions Around Extensions
The administration’s multiple deadline extensions raise questions about executive authority under PAFACA. The statute explicitly provides for one 90-day extension, which would have expired in April 2025. The subsequent extensions push beyond the law’s stated framework.
According to AP News reporting, legal experts have noted that Trump’s actions “violate the law” as written, with one law professor characterizing the extensions not as legal extensions but as “unilateral non-enforcement declarations.” However, no successful legal challenges have emerged to date, partly due to the difficulty of establishing legal standing to challenge the delays.
A Digital-Era Trade Pact
For Trump, a successful TikTok resolution using a golden share approach could demonstrate economic nationalism adapted for the digital age. Such an agreement would allow the administration to claim it protected American interests, preserved jobs, and established oversight mechanisms without economically disruptive bans.
The urgency of reaching a resolution was underscored by the timing of the most recent extension. With the previous deadline set for June 19—just two days after the June 17 extension announcement—the administration was operating under immediate pressure to prevent TikTok from going dark.
The challenge now lies in satisfying American security concerns, Chinese sovereignty sensitivities, and ByteDance’s commercial interests while maintaining credibility with Trump’s political base. The 90-day extension provides additional negotiating time, but success would require navigating complex multilateral interests and internal political divisions.
A TikTok deal would establish precedent for how the U.S. manages foreign-controlled digital platforms that have become integral to American economic and cultural life—a framework that could prove valuable well beyond the TikTok case.
What a TikTok Deal Based On The Nippon Playbook Could Look Like
An optimal TikTok golden share structure would establish clear American oversight while preserving operational continuity. The framework would likely include:
- Government Veto Powers: The U.S. golden share would provide presidential authority over critical decisions, including data transfers to foreign entities, algorithm modifications that could affect content delivery to American users, appointment of an American CEO for TikTok U.S., and any partnership agreements involving data sharing or technology transfer.
- Operational Safeguards: U.S. user data would be stored exclusively on American servers under domestic oversight, with content moderation and privacy protection policies subject to U.S. regulatory approval. The algorithm’s core functionality could remain intact, but any modifications affecting American users would require government clearance.
- Implementation Timeline: Following the Nippon Steel precedent, the deal would include a 120-day closing period to finalize legal documentation and financing arrangements, with the golden share mechanism taking effect immediately upon completion.
However, Trump has already indicated this approach faces complications. In May, he stated that any TikTok agreement would “not mirror” the Nippon Steel arrangement and emphasized that such a deal “would need Beijing’s approval.”
Trump’s Strategy: Delay, Leverage, Deal
Political analysts argue that Trump is using time as leverage – raising tariffs, invoking CFIUS authority, and applying public pressure in order to bring ByteDance to the table. When asked what he thinks the Trump Administration will do, John McEntee commended Trump for not enforcing the law, which he says was “based on a national security hoax.”
The golden share model offers the President a viable path to claim a win that would be positioned as both economic and symbolic: America gets control of TikTok’s most sensitive levers while avoiding the political blowback of banning an app used by more than 170 million Americans and the economic engine behind countless U.S.-based small businesses.
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