In Aiken, South Carolina, there is a company that holds the fate of America’s national security and technological future in its hands. That company is AGY Corporation, the last remaining U.S. manufacturer of advanced glass fiber yarn.
This material is essential to ballistic missiles, military and commercial aircraft, AI infrastructure, and advanced microelectronics. As AGY CEO Al Ridilla put it bluntly, “Missiles cannot fly without AGY. You can’t have AI without AGY.”
This isn’t just rhetoric.
AGY produces S2 Glass, which is critical for missile systems, drones, and aircraft because of its unique combination of strength, heat resistance, and stability.
AGY also produces L Glass and L2 Glass, materials essential to the AI revolution, including components found in the supply chains of global AI chip producers and data center companies powering everything from cloud computing to next-generation military systems.
Without AGY, the U.S. cannot manufacture the specialty materials needed for modern warfare or high-speed AI-driven technologies.
Yet this company has been on the brink of collapse more than once.
Ridilla knows the story of American industrial decline all too well. Growing up in Pittsburgh, he watched the steel industry collapse.
When AGY was facing negative $35 million in cash flow in 2022, Ridilla stepped in as CEO. “I knew it was fixable because the company has great products and committed people," he said.
Since 2000, AGY has had five different owners.
The company survived bankruptcy, mismanagement, and China’s dirty tricks.
But the fight is far from over.
In 1970, two American companies — Owens Corning and PPG controlled 70% of the global glass fiber market.
By 2024, China produced 70% of global glass fiber.
The United States produces just 1% of the glass fiber used globally.
A stunning decline, considering America invented this industry in 1932.
Today, the industry is largely controlled by China National Building Materials Group (CNBM), a state-owned conglomerate that doesn’t just make glass fiber — it also controls much of the world’s cement and steel production.
Ridilla points directly to the failure of globalism, "China achieved market dominance through unfair trading practices — export subsidies, lax environmental regulations, currency manipulation, and forced labor.
"It’s impossible for American producers to compete on equal terms."
China’s strategy is clear: dominate critical materials, starve competitors, and leave the West dependent. If nothing changes, America will soon be unable to compete at all.
The solution is simple but urgent: strategic tariffs. Glass fiber production is too critical to leave dependent on imports.
In 2024, the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on China ranging from 26.3% to 56.1% on glass fiber yarns.
Under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, President Donald Trump and the Commerce Department can — and should — impose tariffs on imported glass fiber yarn and fabrics.
In June 2025, President Trump doubled his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from 25 % to 50%, to give this industry a fighting chance. In that executive order, the White House cited national security risks and the need to safeguard American industrial capacity as justification for the action.
In 2024, China produced 53% of the world’s steel (1 billion tons). The United States produced only 79.5 million tons of steel.
In 2024, China produced approximately 60% of the world’s aluminum (43 million metric tons). China’s dominance in glass fiber is even greater, and just as strategically important as steel and aluminum, both of which are now protected under Section 232.
This isn’t a hopeless case. Most of the material AGY uses is sourced inside the United States. The main exceptions are platinum and rhodium.
South Africa produces 74% of the world’s platinum and 80% of the world’s rhodium.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has spent decades offshoring its industrial capacity.
We can't outsource missile production, AI infrastructure, or the material that holds our aircraft together.
Yet this is exactly what America has been doing for decades. Tariffs must be a scalpel, not a hammer.
Ridilla believes we must protect industries essential to national security and adopt a cluster strategy that builds hubs of manufacturing excellence focused on defense materials and critical infrastructure.
Ridilla worked for Jack Welch at GE. He learned that a company should be either number one or number two in any business it operates in.
Welch also taught him that, "Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will."
This isn’t just about 800 jobs in one South Carolina town. This is about whether the United States can remain a sovereign, self-sufficient nation in the 21st century.
As our nation celebrates Independence Day, the words of Benjamin Franklin have never been truer, "It’s a republic, if you can keep it."
If we fail to impose these tariffs, it is inevitable that there will come a time when we can no longer build the weapons that keep us free.
Robert Zapesochny is a researcher and writer. His work focuses on foreign affairs, national security, and presidential history. He's been published in numerous outlets, including The American Spectator, The Washington Times, and The American Conservative. When he's not writing, Robert works for a medical research company in New York. Read Robert Zapesochny's Reports — More Here.
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