The U.S. Department of Commerce reviewed emerging technologies and their future impact on the economy. This report lists the emerging technologies and suggests their potential contribution to the gross national product by the year 2000. It is based on an assessment by technical experts and agency heads within the Department of Commerce, who studied scientific and industrial plans and the commercialization process in the United States and abroad. The emerging technologies are classified in seven categories: advanced materials, electronics, automation, biotechnology, computing, medical technology, and thin-layer technology. The review also identifies 10 barriers to commercialization and makes recommendations for overcoming them. The barriers to commercialization, ranked in order of importance, include high costs of capital funds; lack of tax incentives; poor integration of manufacturing, design, and research; lack of intellectual property protection; complacency and dependence on the domestic market; restrictive trade policies in foreign markets; federal and state health and safety regulations; export controls on advanced technologies; product liability laws; and antitrust restrictions. (KC)