US President Donald Trump has signed a decree to create a sovereign wealth fund within the next year. According to him, this fund can be used to buy the short video app TikTok, Reuters reports.
- If the fund is created, the United States will join other countries, mainly from the Middle East and Asia, which use such financial mechanisms for direct investment of public funds.
- The text of the decree is short on details, only requiring the Treasury and Commerce Departments to develop a plan to create the fund within 90 days. This plan should define financing mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure and governance model.
- Typically, such funds use the surplus of the country's budget to make investments, but the United States is operating in a deficit mode. In addition, the creation of the fund will likely require congressional approval to authorize new funding, as there is no existing surplus.
- Administration officials have not said how the fund would work or how it would be financed, but Trump has previously suggested that its sources could be "tariffs and other intelligent things." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the fund would be established within 12 months.
- One possible option is to reorganize the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to function as a sovereign wealth fund.
The idea of creating such a fund is not new to Trump. During the election campaign, he suggested that this mechanism could finance large national projects, including infrastructure, manufacturing, and medical research.
Previously, Joe Biden's administration also considered the possibility of creating such a fund, but its structure and sources of funding remained uncertain.
Who can buy TikTok in the US?
In late January, US President Donald Trump announced that he was in talks with several parties about the possible acquisition of the social network TikTok and intended to make a decision on its future within the next 30 days.
Potential buyers include Oracle, Microsoft, Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Sequoia Capital and Perplexity AI.
TikTok currently has about 170 million users in the United States, and its fate remains a key issue for the Washington administration. Currently, representatives of TikTok, ByteDance and investors are declining to comment.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing its own sources, that Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok's US unit to Elon Musk.
Why TikTok can be sold in the US
On January 19, TikTok was shut down for users in the United States in anticipation of a law requiring the platform to be shut down for national security reasons. For years, American politicians have expressed concerns about the security of TikTok, as Chinese companies are required to comply with Chinese government requirements, including data transfer.
But on January 20, TikTok restarted operations after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to restore access to the platform. The company also announced that it would work with President Trump on a long-term solution to keep TikTok in the United States. Despite this, the app remains unavailable for download in the US Apple and Google stores.
