The Commerce Department moved Friday to ease export restrictions for the United Arab Emirates, saying it would “favorably review” an export license application for UAE-backed investment firm MGX, which used a stablecoin linked to President Donald Trump’s family to invest $2 billion in the country. Binance.
An unpublished version of the 17-page new rule, available in the Federal Register, includes a line stating that the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security is favorably reviewing applications related to MGX semiconductors and servers for the UAE.
The rules are expected to be officially announced on Tuesday, July 14th.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., quickly slammed the new rules, calling them “corrupt” because MGX uses a stablecoin with ties to President Trump.
MGX has completed an investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, using the USD1 stablecoin issued by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial.
The deal became a major source of business for the newly launched USD1, raising questions that President Trump’s economic interests could influence U.S. policy toward the UAE.
The broader rules also give the UAE government, Abu Dhabi AI conglomerate G42 and its cloud subsidiary Core42 access to license exceptions for certain advanced computing equipment.
The Commerce Department said in a statement that it “recognizes the UAE’s status as a major defense partner of the United States and its support in advancing U.S. national security interests, including Operation Epic Fury, the war against Iran” and “significantly improves the UAE’s status” under export controls.
“We already know that the UAE royal family behind G42 and MGX secretly purchased a 49% stake in President Trump’s cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial,” Warren said in a statement.
“It has also been revealed that President Trump made a whopping $263 million in profits related to this transaction, which is part of the $1.4 billion he raised from crypto ventures in the last year alone,” Warren said, citing the president’s recent financial disclosures.
“Despite reported concerns about diversion of sensitive technology to China and other national security risks, the Trump Commerce Department is now giving G42 license-free access to advanced AI chips and promising favorable treatment to MGX,” he said.
Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and BIS Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler to testify before Congress “explaining this corrupt transaction and how it could endanger national security.”
Warren and other Senate Democrats called for a hearing early Friday to investigate whether World Liberty’s UAE-related investments influenced the administration’s decisions on advanced chips, arms sales and other policies that benefit the country.
Kessler is already scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee next week.
There is no evidence in the rule that the UAE’s financial transactions with World Liberty influenced the Department of Commerce’s decision.
Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI will receive streamlined treatment for some managed equipment used in UAE operations and data center projects under the new rules.
The changes could speed up chip sales by reducing the need for separate export licenses, but would not eliminate restrictions aimed at preventing sensitive technology from reaching banned users and countries such as China.
The rule also eases restrictions on some military, satellite and spacecraft-related exports.
