The United States has cleared the United Arab Emirates to receive advanced AI chips and computing hardware without individual export licenses, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced on July 10.
What changed
BIS moved the UAE out of Country Groups D:3 and D:4 — categories reserved for destinations facing tighter national-security scrutiny — and into Country Group A:5, the tier reserved for Washington’s most trusted trade partners under the Export Administration Regulations. The reclassification makes the UAE eligible for License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA), which allows qualifying exports, re-exports, and in-country transfers to proceed without a case-by-case license. The exception covers advanced computing items and AI servers, along with certain commercial satellites, spacecraft, and dual-use equipment for oil and gas production, desalination, and civil nuclear power.
The easing isn’t unconditional. BIS named the specific companies authorized to move chips into the UAE license-free: U.S.-headquartered Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI, plus two UAE-based entities, Group 42 Holding (G42) and Core42 Technology Projects. Items controlled for missile-technology reasons still require separate authorization regardless of the reclassification.
Why now
BIS tied the decision to the UAE’s designation as a U.S. Major Defense Partner, its support for American military operations in the region, and commitments made under the U.S.-UAE Artificial Intelligence Cooperation framework signed in May 2025, under which Abu Dhabi pledged matching investment in U.S. AI infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, the move makes the UAE the first Arab country to receive this level of export trust from Washington.
The change follows more than a year of tension over whether Gulf states with close ties to Chinese technology firms should get access to frontier US chips, a debate that stalled a previously announced UAE data-center deal in 2025. The July 10 rule effectively formalizes a narrower version of that access, routed through a short list of vetted American and Emirati companies rather than an open license.