An Open Letter to the Trump Administration: Secure America’s Leadership in Additive Manufacturing.

Dear President Trump and Members of the Administration,

The United States is at a pivotal moment. Additive manufacturing (AM)—a transformative technology redefining the future of global manufacturing and national security—is at risk of slipping from our grasp. As the nation that invented AM, we should be a leader in its continued development and adoption. Instead, without bold action, we may repeat the costly mistake of ceding leadership to China, as we did with solar panel manufacturing.

China is moving aggressively to win the global AM market. AM Research states that the Chinese AM market is “one of, if not the, fastest growing [AM markets] globally … thanks in large part to government stimulus”.  It is clear that their government policy has resulted in competitive equipment that is being broadly applied domestically but also gaining traction globally. By allowing China to control this market, we risk jeopardizing not only American jobs but also our national security. In fact, the Department of Defense (DoD) has acknowledged that AM is crucial to creating resilient supply chains and enabling flexible, on-demand manufacturing for critical defense applications.

Unlike traditional manufacturing methods, which waste material through extensive rough machining operations or rely on costly tooling for casting and forging, AM optimizes production efficiency. This is crucial for industries ranging from consumer goods to national defense, where product innovation, speed, and flexibility are paramount. For the United States, AM is a key enabler of the next-generation innovations needed to maintain military superiority, infrastructure resilience, and commercial product leadership.

Tariffs Alone Can’t Solve The Problem

While tariffs are an important tool of U.S. trade policy, they are insufficient to address this challenge. Tariffs alone cannot build the robust industrial infrastructure required to secure America’s future in AM. In addition to tariffs, we need strategic investments, streamlined certification processes, and policies that foster innovation and ensure U.S. companies remain globally competitive.

Policy Actions to Secure American Leadership in AM

While the DoD is increasing its spending on AM, these efforts need more coordination and focus to maximize their impact.  Sprinkling support across U.S. AM companies alone is an insufficient catalyst for the systemic changes our antiquated manufacturing ecosystem requires.

We urge the administration to adopt the following measures to protect and strengthen America’s position in Additive Manufacturing:

1. Establish a National AM Adoption Task Force: Create a cross-agency task force to champion the adoption of AM produced parts throughout the Government.   To accelerate AM acceptance, early adopters need to be rewarded for intelligent risk-taking that reap the benefits of AM’s unique production agility. Robust sharing of these learnings across the various agencies should be further promoted both informally and formally via this Task Force.
2. Provide Tax Incentives for AM Investments: Offer tax credits to companies investing in AM development or using AM parts. Incentives would drive private-sector innovation and encourage the investments required to make the U.S. a leader in this technology.
3. Fund R&D Grants for Advanced AM Technologies: Expand federal funding for research into AM materials, processes, and scalable commercialization to fuel breakthroughs and sustain U.S. competitiveness.
4. Streamline AM Procurement and Qualification: Simplify and modernize the procurement process for AM parts in defense and other sectors to enable faster adoption of this critical technology.
5. Train a Skilled Workforce for AM Certification: With scholarship and incentives, create targeted training programs in universities and trade schools to prepare the next wave of workers for high-paying additive manufacturing jobs.
6. Pursue and enforce tariffs against Chinese AM printers and AM-produced parts: Tariffs are an important tool to level the playing field against heavily subsidized Chinese companies. We encourage revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to allow for more granular control of critical supply chains.  By adding consideration for method of manufacture, the Administration can take well-tailored actions to level an unfair playing field and minimize the risks of action that is too broad. Since various AM methods are applicable to many products, from rocket engines to golf clubs, it is currently difficult to navigate the HTS and evaluate the value by categories.

The Cost of Inaction

If we fail to act, the consequences will be grave. China’s dominance in AM will mean:

• Loss of high-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.
• Erosion of our competitive edge in defense and commercial sectors.
• Dependence on Chinese supply chains, undermining economic and technological sovereignty.

Only through proactive investment, innovative policies, and a unified national strategy can we secure America’s position as a global leader in AM.

A Call to Action

At Seurat, we are committed to making AM scalable, affordable, and transformative for industries across the board. Our proprietary Area Printing® technology represents a seismic leap in manufacturing capabilities. But we cannot do this alone. To realize this vision, we need decisive support from policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders to build the infrastructure, workforce, and innovation pipeline necessary for success.

Mr. President, members of the administration, and Congress; the time to act is now. Together, we can ensure that Additive Manufacturing becomes a cornerstone of American industrial strength—a shining example of national leadership—, rather than another example of how China overtook us in a critical industry.

Sincerely,
James DeMuth
Co-Founder, Co-Inventor, and CEO
Seurat Technologies, Inc.