Additive manufacturing (AM) has attracted lots of publicity in recent years and is expected to become a disruptive innovation. The attractiveness of additive manufac-turing is easy to see, considering its theoretical potential and the possibility to bring manufacturing industries back to high-income countries. However, considering the current technological, economical and legal questions, the expectations aimed to-wards additive manufacturing may be overly optimistic. Through this article, we take a critical look at the potential of additive manufacturing and the possible effects its widespread adoption could have on the economic, societal and global levels. A special concern is the policymaker viewpoint: what can be done to capitalize on the possible rise of additive manufacturing? Does it have the potential to bring manufacturing industries back to the West?