US removes export license requirements for advanced AI chips to the UAE

The U.S. Department of Commerce has removed export license requirements for advanced AI chips and servers to the United Arab Emirates, reclassifying the UAE to Country Group A:5 effective July 10, 2026, a privileged status typically reserved for close NATO allies like Japan and the UK. This sweeping deregulation allows chipmakers Nvidia and AMD to sell their most powerful AI accelerators to approved UAE entities without navigating the case-by-case licensing process that governed exports for the past four years, while also granting license-free access to major U.S. tech firms operating in the region, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI. The move, which stems from a May 2025 U.S.-UAE AI cooperation framework, positions the UAE as a critical AI hub and benefits Emirati tech giants G42 and Core42, though it has sparked criticism over potential national security risks given that the UAE is the only country in Group A:5 not part of a multilateral export control regime.