G/TBT/W/802  
 
17 May 2024  
(24-3870) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING  
TENTH TRIENNIAL REVIEW  
Proposal from the United States  
The following submiss ion, dated 17 May 2024, is being circulated at the request of the  delegation of 
the United States . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  Environmental and economic sustainability of traditional manufacturing is being called into 
question by national regulators. Even as performance -based regulatory measures increase in 
popularity – allowing multiple paths and inn ovative approaches to compliance – at the expense of 
prescriptive (one -size-must-fit-all) approaches, WTO Members are paying more attention to and 
putting greater emphasis on process and production methods (PPMs) when regulating products of 
all kinds.  
1.2.  Measures related to manufacturing for circularity, design -for-repair, reuse, remanufacturing 
and recycling, have become a topic of interest in the WTO, including under the Committee on Trade 
and Environment (CTE). In particular, members of the Trade and Enviro nmental Sustainability 
Structured Discussions (TEESD) Working Group on Circular Economy have discussed trade policy 
aspects of circular economy and where there are touchpoints with the multilateral trading system.1  
1.3.  Industrial activities, including manufacturing, account for a significant portion of total global 
carbon emissions.2 Reducing overall emissions from manufacturing and transitioning to more 
sustainable and circular models are central to achieving Member 's climate and net zero ob jectives.  
Advanced manufacturing is understood to involve application of innovative production technologies 
and activities – often relying on data, information, automation, computation, software, sensing and 
networking – to create existing and new goods.  
1.4.  As defined by the ISO/ASTM 52900 terminology standard, additive manufacturing is the 
process of joining materials to make parts from 3D model data. Usually, material is joined layer 
upon layer. This approach contrasts with subtractive and formative methods of manufacturing. In a 
relatively short time, additive manufacturing has developed from a prototyping tool to an industrial -
scale manufacturing platform. Applied often in collaboration with other digital and data -enabled 
technologies, additive manufacturin g provides timely flexibility, responsiveness, and scalability that 
traditional manufacturing operations may lack.  
1.5.  Additive manufacturing processes can consume less energy and less material while achieving 
comparable or better product performance than trad itional manufacturing. Lighter -weight additively 
 
1 INF/TE/SSD/R/17 . 
2 For example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cites "the industrial sector in 2022 was directly 
responsible for…a quarter of global energy system CO 2 emissions."  https://www.iea.org/energy -
system/industry . In addition, Rhodium Group claims that industry accounted for 29 percent of global 
greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. https://rhg.com/research/global -greenhouse -gas-emissions -2022/ . 
 G/TBT/W/802  
 
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  manufactured goods lower transportation energy and costs. Standardization of additive 
manufacturing machinery and infrastructure also lowers economic costs thorough ease of installation 
and reparability and results in lower downtime. Additive manufacturing also enables and increases 
circularity of materials. Print -on-demand availability of components supports reparability, 
refurbishing, remanufacturing and extended longevity of service life. Several governmen ts have 
urged increased development of international standards for additive manufacturing.  
1.6.  Given the growing interest in PPMs, sustainability, and circularity, it is important to support 
increased sharing of information and best practices in crafting trade -related policy and regulatory 
measures to effectively support additive manufacturing.  
2  PROPOSAL  
2.1.  The United States proposes to hold a thematic session that would explore the current landscape 
of Member and stakeholder views and actions with regard to standa rds and regulations related to 
additive manufacturing with a view to 1) discuss core TBT principles and how they can be used to 
promote sustainable manufacturing while encouraging trade and innovation; 2) share information 
and best practices in the develop ment of standards and technical regulations for additive 
manufacturing; and 3) promote coordination across relevant WTO Committees, including with the 
CTE, as well as other relevant efforts at the UN Environment Program, UN Conference on Trade and 
Developm ent, UN Industrial Development Organisation, and other international settings, as 
appropriate.  
2.2.  Topics and areas of focus could include:  
a. A short stocktaking presentation of the legal and technological developments related to 
additive manufacturing;  
b. Presenta tions by interested stakeholders, including WTO Members, industry, 
international organizations, and non -government organizations, regarding the 
challenges, opportunities, limitations, effectiveness, and potential implications of 
existing measures, includin g international standards, to promote additive 
manufacturing;  
c. Presentations by WTO Members that are currently developing standards and regulations 
to promote sustainable manufacturing and innovation, with a focus on identification of 
best practices for fac ilitation of trade related to additive manufacturing inputs and 
machinery; and  
d. Presentations by interested stakeholders, including Members, industry, international 
organizations, and non -government organizations, that are currently developing or have 
developed approaches, schemes, or standards to promote additive manufacturing, 
including certification or labeling, voluntary initiatives, suitability, cost of alternatives, 
and supply chain considerations with a focus on identification of best practices for 
facilitation of trade.  
 
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