How a Two-Cent Item Threatens U.S. National Security

There’s seemingly nothing smaller in a modern economy than a two-cent nitrile glove. However, these rubber gloves have become a foundational part of personal safety and hand protection. They’re now deeply important for medical professionals, America’s armed forces, and U.S. manufacturing.

Consider that the United States uses 100 to 120 billion nitrile gloves each year. But less than one percent of these nitrile gloves are actually made in the United States. That means our nation has become astonishingly dependent on overseas glove producers, particularly in China and Asia.

Americans are certainly familiar with nitrile medical exam gloves. They remember the supply chain shortages that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we learned at the time, health security is national security. And right now, we’re seeing similar supply disruptions. Countries are suffering shortages of the raw petrochemicals needed to produce nitrile gloves due to transportation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Today, nearly half of the gloves used in the United States are produced by Chinese companies in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party. In fact, China has invested heavily in new glove-making capacity—part of Beijing’s deliberate strategy to dominate global production and create an import-reliance that can be leveraged geopolitically. It’s not hard to imagine how issues caused by the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz could pale in comparison to a similar disruption in the Strait of Malacca.

Although Malaysia also supplies nitrile gloves to the United States, most shipments come from Southeast Asia through Chinese trans-shipment and shell companies established to evade U.S. tariffs. The result of this camouflage and deception is a growing supply chain vulnerability for the United States.

Significantly, medical applications are only one of the uses of nitrile gloves. In addition to healthcare, nitrile gloves also serve as key safety apparel for workers in mineral processing, semiconductor fabrication, biomedical production, and advanced manufacturing. They’re also used by farmhands, food workers, and first responders. That makes these two-cent components an unexpectedly important part of U.S. industrial production.

There are also the needs of America’s armed forces. Soldiers topping off oil in an Abrams tank require safety gloves. So do Marines servicing hydraulic fluid in Cobra attack helicopters, sailors refueling diesel generators, and airmen repairing the coatings on an F-22 Raptor.

At present, America’s armed forces, medical workers, law enforcement officials, factory workers, ranchers, and farmers are mostly using nitrile gloves made in Malaysia and China. And they’re trusting that these nitrile gloves come from secure sources—and are safe from malicious contamination. However, because China holds the linchpin of global raw materials, this critical resource is now controlled by our greatest geopolitical competitor.

The Trump administration has promised to end this dependency. In fact, President Trump has pledged that the U.S. “will produce our medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and treatments right here in the United States.” His August 2025 Executive Order specifically identified nitrile gloves as a critical medical countermeasure.

In 2021, Congress passed the “Make PPE in America Act.” However, loopholes in the legislation have blocked its effectiveness. The Trump administration should immediately invoke the Defense Production Act to eliminate such loopholes and start securing domestic U.S. glove-making production against our current, overwhelming dependence on imports.

To fully rebuild domestic U.S. glove manufacturing, the administration should also implement domestic procurement mandates while tackling China's predatory trade practices—something the U.S. Department of Commerce is currently doing with its Section 232 investigation. Additionally, the president should issue an executive order directing the revitalization of America’s domestic nitrile glove industrial base.

America’s healthcare, economic well-being, and national security all depend on a reliable source of safe, quality nitrile gloves. This seemingly small product matters far more than we sometimes realize.

A two-cent nitrile glove is a critical component of our nation’s well-being. We must not risk our national security for want of such a perceived small item.

Brigadier General John Teichert, U.S. Air Force retired, served as commander of Joint Base Andrews and Edwards Air Force Base. He was the U.S. senior defense official to Iraq and recently retired as the assistant deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs.

Editor’s Note: Democrats continue to put our nation's national security at risk simply because they want to keep illegal aliens from being deported.

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