Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East has stirred up serious national security questions. Accepting a $400 million jet from Qatar as a presidential plane, for instance, isn’t just about potential conflicts of interest—it also forces officials to tackle extensive security checks to rule out any hidden risks.
The focus has swiftly shifted to his AI-related deals with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which involve substantial semiconductor purchases. According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia is set to secure tens of thousands of chips from Nvidia and AMD, while the UAE might receive over a million accelerators, mainly to support projects linked to U.S. technology firms. These chips are vital for developing AI systems that simulate human intelligence, making them a coveted commodity.
Although there are assurances that Chinese companies will be kept at bay, some officials in Trump’s administration have voiced concerns over unresolved aspects of these deals. They’re calling for legally binding safeguards before any agreements are finalised. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for example, has criticised the semiconductor deal on security grounds, and a House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has flagged potential vulnerabilities in these new chip sales.
Tech and national security expert Sam Winter-Levy from the Carnegie Endowment highlighted that hurrying U.S. tech firms into Middle Eastern markets could allow foreign states to influence American policy. The rush to secure deals might contradict Trump’s ‘America First’ stance, as noted by Time, which points out that vital data centres and chips could eventually be offshored from the U.S.
While the Trump administration has scrapped Biden-era restrictions on semiconductor exports to countries like China and various Middle Eastern nations—arguing that these rules hamper U.S. innovation—the rapid push for international agreements, compounded by Trump’s family’s business ties in the region, raises genuine concerns about whether U.S. interests are being adequately protected.
