
TikTok May Soon Return in New Avatar Amid Sale Talks and September App Launch
Despite the 'divest-or-ban' law being in effect since January 2025, the app has only faced a single day of actual service disruption in the country. Now, it looks like TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is inching closer to a solution that could avoid a full ban. According to the report, a sale is nearly finalized that would see a group of 'non-Chinese' investors—led by Oracle—take over a significant portion of TikTok's U.S. operations, while ByteDance retains a minority stake.
This proposed structure is said to comply with the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. However, the deal still requires a green light from the Chinese government, which is currently negotiating other trade issues with the Trump administration, particularly over tariffs.
In parallel, TikTok's internal teams are working diligently on a new version of the app, internally referred to as 'M2.' This updated platform is expected to launch in U.S. app stores on September 5, 2025, effectively replacing the existing version of TikTok, which could be phased out by March 2026.
Trump's administration had earlier issued a third extension—raising legal eyebrows—that postponed TikTok's ban from app stores. That deadline now expires in mid-September, aligning closely with the proposed M2 app release. If things go according to plan, the original TikTok app will disappear from app stores the day M2 goes live.
In related developments, The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle, a key player in the potential TikTok deal, has secured a groundbreaking agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration. This arrangement gives the federal government access to Oracle's cloud infrastructure at a significant discount—up to 75 percent off licensed software. This move could further strengthen Oracle's position in the ongoing negotiations and reflect broader collaboration with the federal government.
Though details of the M2 app remain limited, it is expected to carry over much of the core functionality and user experience from TikTok, ensuring a seamless transition for its millions of American users. The big shift would primarily be behind the scenes—in ownership, data management, and compliance with national security protocols.
The coming weeks will be crucial as all parties seek to finalize agreements, win over regulators in both Washington and Beijing, and prepare for the September rollout. Until then, TikTok continues to walk a tightrope between innovation, diplomacy, and legality—one scroll at a time.
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The Hindu
27 minutes ago
- The Hindu
OECD Tax Framework Collapses as G7 Bows to Trump's reciprocal tax threat
Published : Jul 07, 2025 16:03 IST - 6 MINS READ Developments that have occurred in quick succession have crushed the successful efforts made in recent years to increase global cooperation aimed at raising tax revenues to take on a host of global challenges. Late in June, the non-US six (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK) in the G7 announced that they had agreed to a 'side-by-side solution' that amounts to a retreat from the existing global agreement to cooperate on corporate taxation. They have decided to exempt US multinationals from being subject to a minimum tax on their profits of 15 per cent, as required under an agreement sealed in 2021. To recall, after years of negotiation, an agreement titled the 'OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)' was arrived at in 2021 under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with non-OECD countries too joining the discussion. That agreement was a commitment on the part of over 140 governments to work towards implementing a common framework to tax the global profits of transnational companies that find ways to transfer to and record their profits in low tax locations where they often have little economic activity. The BEPS framework was a means to combat such tax avoidance practices that reduce national and aggregate global tax revenues, and help governments tax profits in jurisdictions where economic activity actually occurs and value creation takes place. Also Read | A summit of subordinates The core of the agreement, which recommended 15 actions, was named Pillar Two of the framework. This was by no means far-reaching. It merely set a 15 per cent floor rate of tax on the profits of multinationals in all the cooperating jurisdictions, which was much lower than the 25-30 per cent considered reasonable by those looking to raise resources for meeting various financing challenges. Dissatisfaction over this and the tardy move to implement the OECD agreement set off demands for a global tax convention under the auspices of the UN, which would give less developed countries more of a say in determining the terms of the agreement and a greater role in its implementation. Some progress has been achieved on this, with a UN General Assembly decision to constitute an ad hoc committee to draft the terms of reference for a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. Negotiations on the convention were to occur over 2025 to 2027. Weaponised tariffs However, from the very start the US—though a party to the OECD agreement—has been expressing reservations about a number of the proposed measures, especially the Pillar Two global minimum tax. With US multinationals being the principal adopters of profit-shifting strategies, they would have been the main targets of any such minimum tax, however low. So, the US, while committed to the inclusive framework, campaigned during Donald Trump's first term as President of the US, for a much-diluted version of the minimum tax proposal. And, in Trump's more aggressive second term, in which he has chosen to weaponise tariffs and taxes, Pillar Two seems to be under attack. Going on the offensive, the original version of Trump's so-called 'big beautiful' budget Bill included a section—Section 899—that authorised the US government to impose 'revenge taxes' on foreign investments emanating from countries that 'discriminated' against US firms in their tax practices. Support for a minimum corporate tax on global profits in locations were they were actually earned was seen as an instance of such discrimination. In the face of that threat, the non-US members of the G7 caved in and agreed to a side-by-side solution that exempts US multinationals from the global minimum tax provision, which amounts to dumping Pillar Two and with it the OECD agreement. That would also undermine efforts to institute an effective UN convention on international taxation, since leading countries are now likely to opt out of the convention. The link between the decision on the minimum tax and the proposed revenge taxes was clearly revealed when the US Treasury Department asked the US Congress to drop Section 899 because, in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's words, the US had secured concessions exempting US companies from the OECD's global minimum tax regime. In fact, the Trump administration seems set to destroy all efforts at combating tax avoidance by threatening action against any international taxation measures that target multinational profits. Days after the 'side-by-side solution' was announced by non-US G7 members, Canada declared that it was scrapping a proposed tax on digital services companies that was to come into effect on June 30. The tax involved was a paltry levy of 3 per cent, which was to apply on revenues earned by firms like Meta, Netflix, and Amazon from cross-border provision of services to Canadian clients. But even that small levy was expected to increase Canada's federal government revenues by $5.3 billion over five years. Trump declared the tax a 'direct and blatant' attack on US firms, and suspended negotiations on a deal on reciprocal and special tariffs. Fearing that the tax would upend discussions on that deal, Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney said that his government had decided to scrap the levy in order to facilitate resumption of trade talks. Global repercussions This too is likely to be a precedent with global repercussions. Many countries, especially in the EU like France have digital services taxes in place. Germany has been considering imposing a 10 per cent tax on global digital platforms like Meta and Google. And the European Commission has been talking of imposing a tax on the advertising revenues of tech firms. All of these are now under threat, as revoking them may be made a precondition for any deal on tariffs, even though there are signs that a baseline 10 per cent reciprocal tariff on imports into the US will remain and only special tariffs above these are up for negotiation. Also Read | Trade is very central to Trump's world view: Navtej Sarna One of Trump's slogans is that he wants to 'Make America Great Again' by bringing back manufacturing that had moved abroad, not least by relying on import tariffs. That could affect the profits of US firms if they are forced to withdraw from low-cost production locations abroad. Simultaneously, he seems intent on fighting discrimination against US multinationals to protect the profits of US firms. The possibility that the two objectives might be in contradiction seems lost on the President. C.P. Chandrasekhar taught for more than three decades at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US.


India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump's new tariffs and Musk's political bombshell shake Wall Street
Wall Street's major indexes closed lower on Monday, after US President Donald Trump announced hefty tariffs against Japan, South Korea and other trading partners while Tesla shares sank after CEO Elon Musk said he was forming a new US political added to losses after Trump announced the tariff rates against Japanese and South Korean imports, due to take effect on August 1. Stocks wobbled further in the late afternoon when he announced hefty tariffs on Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and week, both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended three sessions with record high closes. The latest record finishes came on Thursday after a robust jobs report. "Markets had been telling us that peak tariff risk is behind us but to have tariffs back in the forefront is causing some skittishness," said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments in Boston. "Investors were getting to that period of ebullience in markets and we're taking a little step back from that."But investors likely have some hopes the announcements are not permanent, she said: "That's the pattern we've been in, announcing punitive tariffs and then dialing that back a little bit. That could certainly be the next phase of this back and forth negotiation," said to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 49.39 points, or 0.77%, to end at 6,230.76 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 183.18 points, or 0.89%, to 20,417.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 421.03 points, or 0.95%, to 44, of the S&P 500's biggest drags was from electric vehicle maker Tesla, whose shares dived after CEO Musk announced formation of a new political party named the "America Party", further escalating his feud with also awaited other US trade announcements after Trump said on Sunday that the US was on the cusp of several deals and would notify other countries of higher tariffs by July 9, with new duties to take effect on August Monday, Trump threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South early April, stock indexes saw dramatic volatility after Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10% on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50% on April 2 and then announced a 90-day pause days early April, the Nasdaq confirmed a bear market or a 20% drop from its recent record, while the S&P 500 had narrowly averted a bear. Both indexes had returned to record levels by late of WNS Holdings rallied after the French IT services firm Capgemini agreed to buy the outsourcing firm for $3.3 billion in tariff policies have stoked inflation worries, further complicating the Fed's path to lower rates. Minutes of its June meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday, should offer more clues on the monetary policy are betting on a roughly 95% probability that rates will remain unchanged in July while the odds for a September cut are close to 60%, according to CME Group's FedWatch area of investor focus is US tax-cut and spending plans, signed into law by Trump late last week. These are expected to swell the national deficit by over $3 trillion in the next decade.- EndsMust Watch


Mint
30 minutes ago
- Mint
Tariff headlines and moving deadlines
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Alden Bentley, Editor in Charge, Americas Finance and Markets Jamie is enjoying some well-deserved time off, but the Reuters markets team will still keep you up to date on what moved markets today and we'll take a close look at how markets are digesting the latest U.S. tariff headlines and how they reacted to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's move to reclaim political influence. I'd love to hear from you so please feel free to reach out at * US stocks fell on nervousness about Wednesday's tariff deadline, while Tesla tumbled after Elon Musk unveiled a new political party * Treasury yields rose as trade talks dragged on and investors prepared for auctions this week * Crude oil prices rose despite OPEC plan to increase supply in August * Gold weakened on the back of the firmer dollar US signals trade announcements imminent as deadline looms Tesla slides as Musk's 'America Party' heightens investor worries Tesla short sellers set to pocket about $1.4 billion in profits after stock slump Trump says will impose 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea Tariff headlines and moving deadlines Wall Street paused its bull run to start Monday on the back foot bracing for a barrage of tariff headlines before Wednesday, which U.S. President Donald Trump set as the expiration of a postponement he declared in the wake of the April 2 "Liberation Day" meltdown. While last week's record highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq suggest that markets are learning to take the White House's fluid trade tactics in stride, they did pull back even more at midday after Trump said that from August 1 he will impose 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, two of the U.S.'s most stalwart trade allies who have yet to reach trade deals with Trump. Trump has promised to notify countries that haven't reached deals by the July 9 deadline of what their new tariffs will be as of August 1, which now becomes the next big calendar notation for investors. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said more trade announcements were likely by Wednesday. Monday's pullback aside, the stock market has more than recovered from the April panic, riding out numerous other potential major risks, from Trump's threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, to the U.S. bombing of Iran nuclear sites to last week's passage of the "Big Beautiful Bill" that economists predict will add trillions to the U.S. debt, any tariff revenue notwithstanding. Only the dollar remains deep underwater. Although it bounced nicely on Monday, it is off 7% against the euro since April 2, and the broader dollar index is down about 6%, while the S&P 500 is up 9.5%. The 10-year Treasury note's benchmark yield is only about 20 basis points higher than its April 2 close, having weathered global concern that the U.S. was no longer a safe place to be invested. Speaking of the "big beautiful" tax bill, Tesla CEO and former-Trump-ally- turned enemy Elon Musk declared it would bankrupt America and announced the formation of a third U.S. political party, the America Party. Investors immediately tanked Tesla shares, which also weighed on Wall Street, recalling how his stint running Trump's Department of Government Efficiency was a costly distraction from the business of making electric vehicles and rockets. What could move markets tomorrow? * No major U.S. data, Fed speakers or other events Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.