Biden administration’s manufacturing renaissance stalls

Good morning. Today we’re covering:

• The threat of rising US protectionism

• Which presidential nominee Americans trust more with the economy

• The illicit gold mining trade ravaging the Amazon rainforest

But first, some 40 per cent of the biggest manufacturing investments announced in the first year of the Biden administration have been delayed or paused due to deteriorating market conditions, slowing demand and a lack of policy certainty in a high-stakes election year, an FT investigation has found.

President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act offered more than $400bn in tax credits, loans and grants to spark development of a domestic cleantech and semiconductor supply chain, revitalise the rustbelt and help the country better compete with China.

However, of the projects worth more than $100mn, a total of $84bn have been delayed or paused indefinitely.

The delays raise questions around whether an industrial transformation can deliver jobs and economic returns to the US. 

They could also complicate Kamala Harris’s efforts to leverage the administration’s record of delivering a manufacturing renaissance to attract voters at the election in November.

• Kamala Harris: The latest FT-Michigan Ross poll shows the vice-president is now more trusted than Donald Trump on the US economy, a sharp change in voter sentiment following Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Opec publishes its August oil market report.

• Trump meets Musk: The former president said he would be doing a “major interview” with X’s billionaire owner tonight.

Five more top stories

1. The US has sent additional forces to the Middle East ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack on Israel.

• Israel has ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians to leave shelters in parts of southern Gaza, in preparation for another raid on areas from which it says Hamas fighters are operating.

2. The Trump campaign has said that a number of its internal emails have been hacked, blaming Iran for the breach and for seeking to “interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our democratic process”.

3. Exclusive: TikTok has been sending inaccurate and misleading news-style alerts to users’ phones, including push notifications with false claims. Although the strategy is used to boost engagement, researchers have said that it exposes users to misinformation.

4. Rising US protectionism threatens to undermine world trade, Guy Platten, the head of the global shipping industry body, has warned. “When we last did this, it didn’t work . . . Trade wars lead to war,” he told the FT.

5. Executives are flying less and cutting one-day work trips by plane, according to the chief of the Global Business Travel Association. She does not expect travel spending to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027.

News in-depth

The Yanomami indigenous reserve, a remote expanse the size of Portugal in the heart of the Amazon, has become the front line of Brazil’s battle against the illicit gold mining trade. Read the FT’s Michael Pooler’s dispatch directly from the rainforest, as he follows the obstacles facing the Lula government in its attempts to clampdown on the spate of ecological harms and human rights violations caused by rapacious demand for the metal.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Susan Wojcicki: The former YouTube chief who helped shape online advertising and championed women in tech died this weekend, aged 56. Read our obituary.

• Automation: As more powerful financial analysis tools emerge, slick Excel skills alone may no longer cut it for private equity’s new hires, writes Sujeet Indap.

• Friendshoring: A recent deal between the US, Finland and Canada to build polar icebreakers is a model for collaborative industrial strategy, writes Rana Foroohar.

Chart of the day

The global insurance sector is scrambling to keep homes and businesses insurable as climate change fuels more extreme weather conditions. Policymakers and companies are using a combination of preventive and adaptive measures to hedge risk in an increasingly uninsurable world. 

Take a break from the news

This Sunday, California will host the 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an annual automotive event where the world’s rarest, most beautiful cars compete to be named best in show. Want to participate? Take a look at these resplendent motors being auctioned ahead of the main event.

Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Tee Zhuo