Biden to issue executive order to support biomanufacturing

U.S. President Joe Biden is reported to sign an executive order to support ‘Made in America’ enterprises in the biomanufacturing industry, following his recent actions to expand semi-conductor and battery manufacturing in the U.S. He is taking actions to enhance comprehensive regulations to induce more ‘made-in-U.S.’ in all three key industries for the future - ‘BBC (Bio, Battery, Chips). These are the areas where South Korea has strengths in as well.

Bloomberg reported the news on Saturday (local time), that President Joe Biden is poised to sign an executive order to help expand U.S. biomanufacturing and reduce reliance on China. According to people familiar with the matter, the order lays out a strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing that harnesses biological systems to create a sweeping array of products and materials, from new medicines to biofuels and food. Washington is devising plans to offer financial support to biomanufacturer so they can scope down their usage of overseas manufacturers, including the ones in Beijing.

While the U.S. is leading the biomanufacturing technology, it has heavily relied on overseas manufacturing facilities or outsourcing for the actual manufacturing process. The U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly raised concerns that the current dependency of its bio-companies on Chinses facilities may threaten national security.

Once taken effect, the biomanufacturing executive order will likely substantially impact relevant companies in Korea, as many Korean companies are leading the global outsourcing for biomanufacturing. Some expect the order will benefit Korean companies competing with the Chinese, as the order has been made to keep its distance from China. Others, however, cautioned that U.S.’s move to expand medicines production within its territory might take a toll on the Korean companies.


weappon@donga.com