The US has softened export controls on UAE purchases of America’s most advanced technologies. The UAE government and approved companies no longer need licenses to buy semiconductor processors, some commercial satellites and military equipment, or dual-use items for civil nuclear power — a status no other Middle Eastern state, including Israel or Saudi Arabia, enjoys.
Abu Dhabi has lobbied for the policy change for years, but previous administrations feared closely guarded technologies, such as those underpinning Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, could leak to China if the UAE was allowed access. On Friday, the Department of Commerce said the UAE’s support for the US war against Iran and its status as America’s largest trading partner in the Middle East were behind the change in policy. The UAE has pledged to invest more than $1 trillion in the US.