A National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers Initiative
The global bioeconomy is entering a period of extraordinary growth — projected to expand many multiples from today's roughly $4 trillion global market value. Powered by the convergence of biology, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and new materials, the bioeconomy is reshaping manufacturing, health, agriculture, energy, and national security.
For the United States, the bioeconomy also represents a generational opportunity: to create new industries, revitalize domestic manufacturing, strengthen supply chains, and generate high-quality jobs — while reinforcing America’s innovation leadership and economic security.
The U.S. bioeconomy already contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to GDP and supports a highly skilled workforce across the country. With the right strategy, it can become a cornerstone of long-term U.S. competitiveness. Biology-based platforms — from gene editing and bioprocessing to data-driven design — offer scalable, cross-cutting tools that can accelerate innovation across nearly every sector of the economy.
A New Arena of Global Competition
Given the opportunity, the bioeconomy is now a central front in global economic and technological competition. China, the European Union, and more than 50 nations have launched coordinated national strategies — pairing large-scale investment with regulatory alignment, workforce development, and industrial policy — to capture leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. Without decisive action, the United States risks ceding advantage in a sector that will define economic power, security, and prosperity in the decades ahead.
The Council’s Bio+ Economy Initiative
The Council on Competitiveness, under the auspices of its National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers, has launched a national, cross-sector initiative to help ensure the United States sets—and sustains—the global pace in the bioeconomy. Drawing on the Council’s executive-level membership and long-standing leadership in innovation policy, the initiative is bringing together leaders from industry, academia, national laboratories, labor, and government to ensure the United States has sets the pace and standards for the global bioeconomy.
The goals of the initiative are to:
This initiative is designed for leaders who recognize that the bioeconomy is not a niche sector — but a foundational driver of the United States' next era of growth and global competitiveness.
Learn more by reading the full Bio+ Economy concept paper.
