Trump's plan for TikTok: Signs order to create a sovereign wealth fund that could buy the company!
President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining plans for a government-run sovereign wealth fund to serve as an economic development tool and possibly be used to buy TikTok. The fund's goals would include developing infrastructure such as airports and highways and could help the U.S. expand its influence in areas such as Panama and Greenland.
“ We will get through this within the next 12 months. We will monetize the assets on the U.S. balance sheet for the American people, ” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a media briefing. “It will be a combination of liquid assets, assets that we have in this country as we work to get them out for the American people.”
There were no other details about a fund that Trump said during his campaign could support "major national efforts ." He has said tariffs could help provide the funds. Other nations use taxes on natural resources, financial transactions and carbon use as funding mechanisms.
A discussed deal in which the U.S. would partner with the social media platform TikTok would be one possible use, Trump said. The app was briefly taken offline over security concerns, but Trump signed an order allowing it to return for a 75-day period during which it would likely have to divest itself of Chinese interests.
Although the idea of such a US fund has been raised before, the vehicles are generally used by smaller nations with large natural resources as well as fiscal surpluses to deploy unlike the US, which has run massive budget deficits.
Countries with funds include China, Norway and Singapore. A U.S. fund could help it compete with those countries and make the government less dependent on issuing Treasury debt to raise money.
The executive order states that the purpose of the fund is " to promote fiscal sustainability, reduce the tax burden on American families and small businesses, create economic security for future generations, and promote the economic and strategic leadership of the United States internationally."
Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick are tasked with developing a strategy within 90 days on how the fund will operate. Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund, with more than $1.7 trillion in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. China Investment Corp. is next with $1.3 trillion.
These funds tap into global financial markets through investments in stocks, bonds and real estate, along with infrastructure and private equity. Critics say the lack of transparency could lead to conflict and corruption if there are no strict governance rules.
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