Those tariffs are coming soon-ish

Good morning. Turns out tariff time isn’t here just yet—let’s see what happens in April. Meet the undocumented workers who built Elon Musk’s Tesla factory. And consider this your Valentine’s present: Two baby pandas are set for their public debut. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, signing a measure to study proposing new levies on a country-by-country basis. Howard Lutnick, the president’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, said all studies should be complete by April 1 and that Trump could act immediately afterward. From politicians to investors, the global community is trying to decipher what he really wants.

On the international front, Trump floated the idea of a three-way meeting with the leaders of Russia and China in which the countries would agree to cut defense spending in half. He also said he’d love to have Vladimir Putin back in the Group of 7 (which was previously the Group of 8). As for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is prepared to engage with Trump’s peace initiative but said he’ll speak to Putin only after agreeing to a game plan with European allies.
Elon Musk advocates for a border crackdown—but Tesla and SpaceX have relied on work by undocumented immigrants for years. The centerpiece of the carmaker’s growth in Austin is its 10-million-square-foot “gigafactory,” where such workers have been a regular presence since shortly after ground broke in 2020.

Good news, Gen Z! Apple and Google plan to restore TikTok to their app stores following a letter from the Department of Justice saying a ban wouldn’t be immediately enforced. The two companies had removed TikTok in the US last month to comply with a law passed in 2024, before Trump delayed it taking effect.
Over on Wall Street, Morgan Stanley paid CEO Ted Pick a cool $34 million for his first year leading the bank. Pick, 56, took the reins a year ago from longtime boss James Gorman, who was paid $37 million in his last year. How to spend the money? Perhaps invest in cricket?

Deep Dive: Wine & Dine

French wines and Irish butter are being shipped to the US in ever-higher volumes as the EU gears up for what could be a protracted rift with one of its main trade partners.

The Big Take

A libertarian city dream in Honduras has become an $11 billion nightmare. Prospera touts itself as the world’s most ambitious experiment in self-governance, but critics say its founders have lost their way.

Opinion

Either Trump is the Wizard of Oz, manipulating reality behind the curtain when there’s nothing there, or he’s the Incredible Hulk, who will soon shock everyone by bursting out as the terrible Tariff Man, John Authers writes. The reality is somewhere between the two.

Before You Go

Move over, Moo Deng. Hong Kong is in a frenzy ahead of the weekend’s public debut of twin 6-month-old panda cubs at Ocean Park. City officials are hoping the black-and-white ambassadors may help trigger a viral moment similar to Thailand’s pygmy hippo.

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