Lutnick is referring to the potential deal to sell the majority of TikTok to U.S. investors, which President Trump recently said was all but done, with the buyer being "secured" on the U.S. side. Trump did say at the time that China has to approve such a deal, and now it seems his administration is running out of patience.

Donald Trump vowed to save TikTok before taking office, claiming only he could make a deal to keep the app operational in the US despite national security concerns.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on July 24 that if China does not accept a deal from the U.S. to sell the app, TikTok will go dark again.