3D printing could wipe out a quarter of world trade by allowing us to make things at home
Squabbling between Whitehall and Brussels over how post-Brexit trading will play out may actually be pointless after all. What will negate all that, apparently, is 3D printing.
A report by Dutch bank ING has concluded that almost a quarter of world trade will be wiped out by 2060 as firms use 3D printers to manufacture goods at home rather than import from abroad.
And such a scenario is a conservative conclusion. In a report entitled “3D printing: a threat to global trade”, an alternative scenario suggested as much as 40 per cent of global trade could be erased by 2040.
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At the moment 3D printing has very little effect on cross-border trade. But ING said that may change once high-speed 3D printing makes mass production with printers becoming economically viable.
Goods can be manufactured at home replacing manual low-wage labour, often sourced from developing nations.
“Automotive, industrial machinery and consumer products are the industries that, as a result of 3D printing, will take the lead in suppressing cross-border trade These industries are top investors in 3D printers and are large players in world trade,” said ING.
Once 3D printing becomes widely applicable and economically viable for mass production it will boost ‘local for local’ production with 3D printers at the expense of imports.
“3D printing is good news for politicians that are concerned about their trade deficits. As the share of trade in GDP declines, so will their deficits.”
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