By Gavin Bade

President Joe Biden attends the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Sept. 9, 2023. | Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER — The Biden administration loves to claim that “America is back” on the world stage after four years of President Trump’s go-it-alone foreign policy.

But for most of the globe, the U.S. has been conspicuously absent — until now.

At the G20 meetings last week, the president debuted his administration’s new charm offensive for the developing world — a promise to invest in the economic development of 70 nations, concentrated in the Southern Hemisphere, with high poverty and debt burdens.

It’s a campaign that makes few headlines stateside, but has huge implications for U.S. trade relations and Washington’s economic competition with Beijing. Biden will need to increase trade with many developing nations to secure the materials and components for his clean energy manufacturing agenda. And his team is desperate to stop those countries from falling further into China’s orbit after decades of neglect from the U.S.

“The U.S. government for many years has not really had a sustained focus [on developing nations],” said Peter Harrell, who served on Biden’s national security council until last fall. “Over the last six months in particular, you’ve seen a really concerted push by the administration to expand its outreach.”

Biden’s plan is to buy those nations off. At the G20, the administration announced plans to reform the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other Western development institutions so they can unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects around the world. That, they hope, will lead more nations to side with the U.S. in everyday trade and in times of crisis — like a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

The investment-first strategy marks a dramatic shift from decades of U.S. economic policy that focused on removing tariffs and other trade barriers in hopes that private U.S. companies would rush in and industrialize poorer nations. Biden’s team says that agenda has run its course.

“We don’t see tariffs as being at the core of trade policy. We don’t see trade policy as being at the core of international economic policy,” deputy national security advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Pyle said at a late June appearance at the Carnegie Endowment. “Just as the agenda with other industrial economies begins with investment, so too the agenda for the developing world begins with investment.”

But Beijing already has a trillion-dollar head start. For over a decade, the Chinese government has funded infrastructure projects in over 130 nations through its Belt and Road Initiative — building not just ports and bridges, but goodwill among many nations.

“We start at a significant deficit” compared to China, Harrell said.

And many countries remain skeptical of Western development institutions that for decades imposed budget cuts as a condition for aid. Even as they publicly welcome the U.S. campaign, some leaders remain skeptical behind the scenes.

“IMF and World Bank packages are not seen very positively” in many developing nations, said a Southeast Asian economic official, granted anonymity to speak frankly about Biden’s plans. “It all comes with very heavy commitments that would tie our hands as to how we manage our [foreign direct investment], monetary policy, and taxes.”

Others worry that the reformed IMF and World Bank will simply impose a new type of green-tinged austerity on developing nations under the auspices of climate action. Those critiques – and the administration’s responses – are all in the latest edition of our series on the changing face of global trade.

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @GavinBade.

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Generative AI is at an inflection point. With the recent announcements of AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) tools being integrated into search engines and the broader web, generative AI could be transformational in changing the business model of search and how we access content on the web. Access in-depth analysis on the potential implications in the Citi Gps Report, Generative AI.

— Prosecutors argue Trump knowledge of Twitter search warrant could ‘precipitate violence’: Federal prosecutors secretly argued in April that if Donald Trump learned of their efforts to access his Twitter account, his public disclosure of the development could “precipitate violence.” Newly unsealed court filings show that attorneys working for special counsel Jack Smith worried that Trump would publicly announce the search warrant of his Twitter feed just like he announced on Truth Social when his Mar-a-Lago estate was searched by the FBI last year. That announcement was followed by a surge in threats against federal law enforcement, culminating in the fatal shooting of a man who had attempted to breach an FBI building in Cincinnati.

— Lee’s jabs at Newsom cause exodus from her Super PAC: Two top California strategists have cut ties with the super PAC supporting Barbara Lee’s U.S. Senate bid after she went scorched earth on Gavin Newsom. Brian Brokaw and Dan Newman — political advisers to the governor — broke from Lee’s PAC, She Speaks for Me, and are siding with Newsom after he was castigated by Lee, according to two people familiar with the decision. Her broadsides came in response to Newsom pledging last weekend to appoint an interim senator — not Lee — should Sen. Dianne Feinstein leave her seat early.

— U.S. military orders new interviews on the deadly 2021 Afghan airport attack as criticism persists: The Pentagon’s Central Command has decided to interview roughly two dozen service members who were at the Kabul airport when suicide bombers attacked during U.S. forces’ chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal but weren’t included in the military’s initial investigation. The decision, according to officials, does not reopen the administration’s investigation into the deadly bombing and the withdrawal two years ago. But the interviews are meant to see if any of the service members have new or different information. The new interviews were ordered by Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, and triggered in part by assertions by at least one service member injured in the blast who said he was never interviewed about it and that he may have been able to stop the attackers.

GO INSIDE THE WORLD’S BIGGEST DIPLOMATIC PLATFORM WITH UNGA PLAYBOOK: The 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four city blocks in Manhattan. POLITICO's special edition UNGA Playbook will take you inside this important gathering starting Sept. 17 — revealing newsy nuggets throughout the week and insights into the most pressing issues facing global decision-makers today. Sign up for UNGA Playbook.

THE ELUSIVE YOUTH VOTE — Students were dancing in the aisles and their seats in the Hampton University auditorium long before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage for the first stop of her fall college tour. Jaden Clemons and Layth Carpenter, both 18-year-old freshmen, said they viewed Harris as “authentic” and “relatable” as the alum of Howard University, another historically Black school, writes the Associated Press.

But neither was ready to commit to supporting Harris and Joe Biden next year, the first time they will be eligible to vote in a presidential election. Getting students like these two off the sidelines is one of the top challenges for the White House as Biden seeks a second term as the oldest president in American history, and it’s one that Harris will confront as she crisscrosses between campuses in the coming weeks. Although young people lean left, they’re less likely to vote, and preventing them from tuning out is crucial in close campaigns that hinge on narrow margins.

CHRISTIE IN NH — Gov. Chris Christie’s trademark in the 2024 presidential race is that he’s the Republican most willing to rip into Donald Trump’s deficiencies. But in a state like New Hampshire that focuses on retail politics, campaigning also means facing tough questions about himself and his beliefs, writes NBC News.

Christie spent the bulk of a Tuesday town hall in Bedford answering policy questions on topics ranging from unions to Taiwan, engaging audience members in back-and-forth conversations. He also defended his own record and policy ideas, getting fiery while answering a question from an audience member about several major events from his time as governor of New Jersey: Bridgegate, “Beachgate” and his decision to not attend the funeral of State Trooper Sean Cullen.

UAW UNHAPPY WITH BIDEN — The self proclaimed most “pro-union president in American history” is under fire from the leader of the most high-profile union in America, reports POLITICO.

Shawn Fain, head of the United Auto Workers, has privately expressed his frustration with Joe Biden, wanting the president and other Democratic lawmakers to come out more aggressively in support of his union, which launched a strike today against the so-called Big Three automakers.

Fain’s frustration was conveyed by five people familiar with his thinking, who were granted anonymity to describe his position. One of those five described him as “not happy” with the situation. And Fain’s not the only person in Michigan who isn’t thrilled with the way Biden and his team have handled the labor dispute.

Fain was also set to put out remarks, which were exclusively obtained by POLITICO, calling on Biden to get involved. “We agree with Joe Biden when he says ‘record profits mean record contracts.’ We don’t agree when he says negotiations have broken down. Our national elected negotiators and UAW leadership are hard at work at the bargaining table. Our members and allies are standing strong at the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line,” he said, as part of a larger statement.

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Supporters of opposition parties hold European Union and Polish flags and banners during the Freedom march organized by the main opposition party in Warsaw, Poland, June 4. | Omar Marques/Getty Images

FAIR AND FREE — The Polish government’s control of the public broadcaster, as well as the media regulator and its use of public funds to influence media organizations, is d istorting the political landscape ahead of the October 15 general election, NGOs and media watchdogs warned today, writes Nicholas Camut.

Poland’s media freedom has declined precipitously since the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party took power in 2015.

The main channel of government influence is its control of the Polish public broadcaster, Telewizja Polska (TVP), which has turned into the propaganda arm of the ruling party with no effort to provide balanced coverage. TVP controls about a third of the Polish broadcast market, and is especially dominant in the smaller towns and countryside that are crucial to the electoral fortunes of PiS.

“TVP is failing in the fundamental duty of any public broadcaster to provide fair and balanced political coverage between and during elections,” Media Freedom Rapid Response, an umbrella group of European press freedom organizations, said in a statement.

It’s not the only such concern about media freedom in Poland. Poland came in 57th out of 180 countries in the annual press freedom index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, an NGO; that’s one of the lowest rankings in the EU. It was 18th in 2015. “After turning the public media into instruments of propaganda, the government has multiplied its attempts to change the editorial line of private media and control information on sensitive subjects,” the NGO noted.

JOIN 9/19 FOR A TALK ON BUILDING THE NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY: The United States is undergoing a generational economic transformation, with a renewed bipartisan emphasis on manufacturing. Join POLITICO on Sept. 19th for high-level conversations that examine the progress and chart the next steps in preserving America’s economic preeminence, driving innovation and protecting jobs. REGISTER HERE.

IT’S SUMO TIME — Sumo wrestling has been around for hundreds of years — but it’s just now starting to really catch hold in the United States. Much of that is thanks to the New York Sumo Beya, a training quarters that is run by a man named James Grammer from his apartment in Queens. Members led by Grammer now spar in parks around the city and work with the United States Sumo Federation. For GQ, Jackson Wald takes a fascinating look into a New York and U.S. subculture that’s taking cues from Japan.

On this date in 1963: A civil defense worker and firefighters walk through debris from an explosion which struck the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing and injuring several people, in Birmingham, Ala. The attack was carried out by white supremacists. | Bill Hudson/AP Photo

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Generative AI is at an inflection point.

With the recent announcements of AI-driven natural language processing (NLP) tools being integrated into search engines and the broader web, generative AI could transform the way we search for things on the internet, use information, and communicate with each other.

By providing a conversational style response to an inquiry instead of links to suggested sites, generative AI could make the overall search and browsing experience more natural and intuitive, potentially reshaping the way we search for travel, buy goods, and research products.

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