In a boost to the UAE’s pursuit of becoming the Middle East’s technology major, the United States has eased export controls, allowing easier access to military items, advanced AI hardware, and a few space technologies.
According to a US Department of Commerce notice published in the Federal Register on Friday (July 10), the relaxations will allow the Gulf major’s government and approved companies to obtain advanced computing items without export licenses. Among the beneficiaries are UAE-based technology firms G42 and Core42, along with American companies operating in the country, including Amazon, Apple, and xAI. These companies will no longer require export licenses for AI chips and servers, items that have been covered under the revised regulations.
“The decision reflects decades of security cooperation between Washington and Abu Dhabi, particularly in countering Iran and its regional proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” the Commerce Department said, while acknowledging the UAE’s support for American “strategic interests” during Operation Epic Fury, referring to the US-Israeli military campaign against Tehran.
Easing export restrictions finally opens the door for ventures in the UAE to begin buying cutting-edge AI chips from Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Cerebras Systems, as planned under a deal reached between Washington and Abu Dhabi more than a year ago.
Under the agreement, American companies were asked to supply G42, the Emirati state-backed tech champion, with thousands of processors for use in new AI data centers in the region.
Talking about UAE’s ambition of becoming a regional tech (including AI) major in the Gulf, in recent years, the country has directed considerable amounts of its oil wealth toward computing infrastructure. However, during the Iran war, multiple data centers got hit in the Gulf, leading to concerns about the region’s ability to attract overseas tech investments. With the latest US announcement, the environment is expected to improve a bit.
The Gulf nation has also emerged as the United States’ largest trading partner in the Middle East, while its foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world’s largest economy has crossed the USD 1 trillion mark. The revised regulatory framework has also upgraded the UAE into a more favorable export-control category that permits broader license exceptions for military and dual-use technologies regulated by the Commerce Department.