President Donald Trump is raising the possibility of changes to the U.S. AI semiconductor export control policy ahead of his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in mid-May.
Bloomberg reported on the 2nd (local time) that the Trump administration is considering easing export restrictions on NVIDIA Corporation's chips to the UAE. This is significant as it could open new avenues for the AI industry in Gulf countries that have been stifled under U.S. chip regulations.
According to multiple sources, President Trump may issue a joint statement concerning bilateral chip cooperation during his Middle East tour from the 13th to the 16th. This timing coincides with the effective date of the U.S. global AI expansion regulations on May 15. These regulations were introduced at the end of the Biden administration last year and have set export ceilings for high-performance AI chips to not only China but also to approximately 100 countries.
President Trump is reported to have questioned the current system, which restricts chip exports even to allies who have recently received approval to purchase F-35 fighter jets. This came after a meeting with Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor and the president's brother, during the latter's visit to Washington in March. At that time, the UAE also announced plans to invest up to $1.4 trillion in U.S. industries, including energy, semiconductors, and AI infrastructure, over the next decade.
NVIDIA's stock price surged more than 5% immediately after Bloomberg's report. NVIDIA Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang recently visited Washington to request a flexible application of the AI chip export restrictions to the government. He pointed out that "the world has completely changed since the announcement of the regulations," suggesting that strict export controls could push U.S. corporations out of competing with foreign technologies.
The UAE has emphasized its status as a U.S. ally and shown a strong commitment to securing AI technology. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala recently acquired equity in Intel's subsidiary Altera, and G42 has concluded a $1.5 billion AI partnership with Microsoft, while restructuring its relationship with Huawei. Bloomberg reported that further investments by the UAE in Intel are also being discussed.
Experts believe that this measure could become a critical turning point for the AI chip supply strategies of U.S. big tech companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Intel. They suggest that if the U.S. relaxes regulations to differentiate chip accessibility based on levels of cooperation with countries other than China, significant changes are expected in the global semiconductor supply chain and technology diplomacy landscape.