US President Donald Trump took the first step towards creating a sovereign wealth fund for the United States, and suggested that it end up purchasing Tiktok.
The president signed an executive order on Monday, to start the operation, saying that the fund would soon be “one of the biggest affairs.”
More than 90 countries have sovereign wealth boxes, as they invest excess income for future generations. However, the United States is currently running a budget deficit.
“We will create a lot of wealth for the box,” Trump told reporters.
When Trump first introduced the idea of the sovereign wealth box during his campaign, he suggested that he could be funded through “customs duties and other smart things”.
He has already announced plans to impose a tariff on imports from the three largest commercial partners in America – China, Mexico and Canada.
But on Tuesday, the fees were stopped on Mexico and Canada for 30 days.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Payett said that the fund would be created within the next 12 months and that the plan was controlling the assets currently owned by the United States government for the “American people.”
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Norway have two of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with the support of fossil fuel sales. They invest in companies and projects all over the world.
President Trump previously said that the American sovereign wealth fund will fund “great national efforts”, including infrastructure projects such as airports and roads as well as medical research.
After signing the executive order to create the fund, he also strengthened the idea that he could buy the TIKTOK social media platform.
The Chinese -owned social media company was briefly taken in the United States last month, due to national security concerns, after the previous administration ordered its owner to sell its American operations or confront a ban.
Trump was delayed the embargo, and promised to find a solution, after Tijook users protested in the United States when it turned off.
“We will do something, maybe with Tiktok, and perhaps not,” Trump said. “If we conclude the correct deal, we will do so. Otherwise, we will not put it in the sovereign wealth box.”
However, the president recently said that the Microsoft technology giant was in discussions to get Tiktok and that he wanted to see a “bidding war” about selling the social media application.
Other big names were also presented in technology, including Larry Ellson and Eileon Musk, as potential buyers.
