Big 3 automakers; USDA employees; Ukraine : NPR

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Today’s top stories

President Trump has granted automakers a one-month reprieve from the import tariffs he imposed on Canada and Mexico. The automaking industry is a significant source of cross-border business. It’s common for parts to cross the border several times as the cars are assembled. U.S. automakers warned that tariffs would raise the price of their vehicles by thousands of dollars.

• 🎧 The Big Three automakers, Ford, GM and Stellantis, have been lobbying for months asking that these tariffs not apply to parts or vehicles that meet the strict requirements of the USMCA, NPR’s Camila Domonoske tells Up First. That’s the trade agreement that Trump negotiated between the U.S., Canada and Mexico to replace a previous one. Most cars made in North America meet USMCA requirements. The reprieve gives auto companies time to figure out logistics but not enough to move a factory to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.

Nearly 6,000 fired U.S. Department of Agriculture employees are returning to work today. An independent federal board ordered them to be reinstated for 45 days while an investigation into the firings continues. The employees were let go on Feb. 13. Tens of thousands of probationary employees have been fired across the federal government since the middle of last month.

• 🎧 Many of the people fired had excellent performance reviewsNPR’s Andrea Hsu says. Investigators found that the agency didn’t look at their performance, which is required when dismissing workers during a probationary period. The special counsel investigating the firings said the dismissals appeared to be part of an attempt to shrink the government. Administrations are allowed to do this, but they have to go through several procedures — including giving people 60 days’ notice, which USDA didn’t do. The Merit Systems Protection Board reviewed the findings and found that the firings were probably unlawful.

European Union leaders are holding another emergency summit today to plan support for Ukraine and protect the continent against Russia. They aim to do this with less help from the U.S. The U.S. remains part of the NATO alliance and it has troops based in Germany. However, the U.S. has recently paused military supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

• 🎧 “You can really feel the worry here in a way I haven’t seen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started three years ago,” NPR’s Teri Schultz says from Brussels. She says this is due to the rapid deterioration of relations between the Trump administration and Ukraine. European leaders are expected to find a way to move forward with a new package of proposals on how to come up with 800 billion euros in defense spending.

Deep dive

Trump has announced plans for a “Crypto Strategic Reserve,” which would allow the U.S. to buy and sell cryptocurrency. The president said the reserve is in the works as part of his executive order on digital assets. The reserve would hold five cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano. This move could revolutionize the industry and is a step toward Trump’s plan to make the nation the crypto capital of the world.

• 💰 A reserve typically refers to the government’s more active asset management role. Maintaining a federal reserve would involve the government actively buying and selling cryptocurrency assets.
• 💰 The U.S. is believed to hold around 200,000 bitcoin tokens from criminal seizures, worth over $17 billion in value as of Monday, according to the Coinbase exchange.
• 💰 During his campaign last year, Trump received millions of dollars in donations from crypto investors and founders. Trump also released a crypto “meme coin.”

Take a look at how a senator’s bill describes the potential structure of a federal crypto reserve.

Picture show

The remote island of Greenland, home to around 57,000 residents, will become more accessible to international tourists than ever before. As a territory of Denmark, Greenland has been expanding its airports and hotels to boost its economy. Seasonal direct flights from the U.S. to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, will open for the first time later this year. “I’m welcoming people because I want to show my beautiful country to other people,” Jan Cortsen, a Greenland tour guide, said. See photos from the island.

3 things to know before you go

1. Sesame Workshop will downsize with layoffsaccording to president and CEO Sherrie Rollins Westin. The announcement comes a day after over 200 employees stated they wanted to form a union.
2. Prosecutors say 25 Canadians have been charged with defrauding hundreds of American seniors out of more than $21 million through a scheme known as a “grandparent scam.”
3. The National Park Service’s web pages dedicated to transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, key figures in the Stonewall Uprising, have disappeared. This is part of an ongoing move by the federal government to alter NPS’s web pages about LGBTQ history.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.