Senator Elizabeth Warren learned the details on Friday, and by the time she finished reading, she was calling it corrupt.
The Commerce Department announced that day that it would ease export controls on the United Arab Emirates, a move that grants the UAE government, Abu Dhabi’s G42 conglomerate, and its cloud subsidiary Core42 access to license exceptions for certain advanced-computing equipment. Tech companies including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI would also receive streamlined treatment for some controlled equipment used in UAE operations and data center projects. But buried inside the unpublished 17-page rule, visible in the Federal Register ahead of its scheduled July 14 publication, was a single sentence that drew the sharpest scrutiny: a provision authorizing the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to favorably consider export license applications for MGX, an investment firm backed by the UAE.
MGX is not a neutral party. The firm used USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a company affiliated with President Donald Trump’s family, to pour $2 billion into Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily volume. That transaction provided a major source of business for the newly launched USD1 and immediately raised questions about whether Trump’s financial interests could shape U.S. policy toward the Emirates.
Those questions sharpened further when Warren pointed to reporting that the UAE royal behind both G42 and MGX had secretly purchased a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial. Trump’s recent financial disclosure revealed a $263 million windfall related to the deal, part of the $1.4 billion he accumulated from crypto ventures in the previous year alone.
“Now, Trump’s Commerce Department is giving G42 license-free access to advanced AI chips and promising favorable treatment for MGX, despite reported concerns about the diversion of sensitive technology to China and other national security risks,” Warren said in a statement. The Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and BIS Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler to testify before Congress to explain what she characterized as a corrupt arrangement and its potential national security implications.
The Commerce Department, for its part, justified the changes by citing the UAE’s status as a U.S. Major Defense Partner and its support for American national security interests, including Operation Epic Fury, the military campaign against Iran. The regulatory shift could accelerate chip sales by reducing the need for separate export licenses. Restrictions designed to prevent sensitive technology from reaching prohibited users or countries such as China remain in place, the department said. The rule itself contains no evidence that the UAE’s financial dealings with World Liberty influenced the department’s decision.
Meanwhile, the scope of the easing extends beyond semiconductors. The rule also loosens controls on some military, satellite and spacecraft-related exports to the region.
Earlier that same Friday, Warren and other Senate Democrats had already called for hearings to examine whether UAE-linked investments in World Liberty influenced administration decisions on advanced chips, arms sales and other policies benefiting the country. Kessler is scheduled to testify next week before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, a hearing that will now carry considerably more weight.
Whether that testimony will clarify the line between commercial interest and national security policy is the question hanging over the rule’s July 14 publication date.