Tariffs started in 1789, one of the first acts of the newly formed U.S. Congress. More recently, tariffs have seen a resurgence, with countries imposing these duties as part of their economic policy or as a political pressure tactic.

While tariffs can protect domestic industries, create and save jobs, and improve the trade balance, they can also cause higher raw material costs, pose operational challenges, and result in smaller profit margins. Businesses will have a choice of absorbing these costs or passing along the increased expenses to consumers, which could mean lost market share.

To overcome rising prices due to American tariffs and supply chain disruptions, businesses are turning to additive manufacturing (AM) technology — also known as 3D printing — that can mitigate tariffs by relocating production operations to the U.S. This may also require companies to switch from foreign suppliers to ones here or in a country with a free trade agreement to avoid paying the tariffs.

Additive Manufacturing Advantages

Traditional manufacturing often involves removing material to shape a product. In contrast, additive manufacturing builds products layer by layer, using digital designs and mathematical equations. As a result, waste is reduced, and defects are minimized.

Additive manufacturing offers numerous benefits. Firstly, it enables localized production. Businesses can manufacture products domestically, which lowers transportation costs and reduces supply chain vulnerabilities caused by geopolitical events. Secondly, additive manufacturing allows for complex designs, which can create intricate geometries and offer greater product customization. Finally, there are environmental advantages. If production is moved locally, carbon emissions and fuel consumption decrease. This also creates manufacturing jobs and stimulates the economy by sourcing raw materials from American suppliers.

With all these benefits, it’s no surprise that the global additive manufacturing market, estimated at $21.58 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $125.94 billion by 2034.

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements have supercharged additive manufacturing, making it more efficient and expanding its capabilities. AI-powered AM helps optimize design, detect defects, and enhance quality control while allowing companies to forecast market trends, raw materials prices, and supply chain disruptions more accurately.

When the latest technological breakthrough, agentic AI, is integrated into AM, it will go even further. It will create autonomous manufacturing by minimizing human involvement and moving production toward self-optimization and independent production decisions.

AM enables businesses to recalculate their production cycle in every area, from raw materials to finished products.

Real-World Uses

Many industries have adopted additive manufacturing to lower costs, optimize production operations, and reduce supply chain risks, including automotive, healthcare, and aerospace.

For the past three decades, General Motors has used AM to produce cost-effective components, reducing lead times. Medical professionals recently reported in Science Direct that additive manufacturing techniques can fabricate the construction of customized artificial organs. With 104,000 patients waiting for organ transplants, medical personnel see the value of customized 3D printing. Aerospace companies use additive manufacturing to build lightweight, high-strength parts needed for aircraft.

Another company, Stanley Black & Decker, has been at the forefront of additive manufacturing, using the technology to produce complex parts that traditional manufacturing could not make. If tariffs were to reach 60% on imports from China, estimates show that it could cost the company $600 million per year.

Challenges to Widespread Adoption

Despite its advantages, additive manufacturing modeling has obstacles to overcome, including higher initial setup costs than traditional methods, limited material options, slower production in high-volume manufacturing, increased computational costs for generating advanced AI algorithms, integration with legacy systems, and cybersecurity protocols to protect digital designs.

To implement additive manufacturing, companies can opt to buy products like Autodesk Fusion. However, companies may want to customize AM products to meet their unique needs, which may require them to find a software solutions company that has trained Autodesk developers to do the work.

Despite these challenges, AM’s versatility and long-term cost savings, especially during a trade war, make it an attractive option for companies to consider.

The Future of Additive Manufacturing

As companies struggle with rising raw material costs, increased fuel prices, and challenges to their supply chain, broader adoption of additive manufacturing may accelerate. In the coming years, we can expect innovations from software developers that will expand AM’s capabilities.

Additive manufacturing and advanced technology can empower decision-makers with new, versatile resources to optimize operations and bring their businesses into the modern era. By embracing an additive manufacturing strategy, companies can protect themselves from tariffs and the ever-changing global economy. Otherwise, they risk falling behind.  

Atit Shah is Technical Director at Chetu.