Warren demands answers on UAE access to US tech

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Warren demands answers on UAE access to US tech after Trump crypto deal

August 7, 2026

WASHINGTON,— Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to explain why his agency loosened export controls on the UAE in July, a move that came soon after UAE-linked entities poured large sums into a crypto firm owned by the Trump family, CNBC reported.

Warren sent a letter to Commerce, obtained by CNBC, demanding its full national security analysis.

She also wants to know whether Defense, State or Energy officials flagged worries that advanced U.S. technology might reach China or Iran.

In the letter, Warren said Commerce’s handling of the matter raises serious doubts about whether the president’s stake in the crypto business may be swaying the agency’s decisions and, by extension, national security.

Requests for comment to Commerce and the White House went unanswered.

Donald Trump with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Washington — President Donald Trump hosts UAE Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan on March 19, 2025, Washington, U.S. Photo: The White House.

At the heart of Warren’s inquiry is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security advisor, who also chairs the AI company G42 and investment firm MGX. His ties to UAE intelligence work have earned him the nickname “Spy Sheikh.”

Entities connected to Sheikh Tahnoon reportedly put $500 million into World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto business, earning board seats.

MGX also used World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin to help finance a $2 billion stake in Binance. Nothing in Warren’s letter proves these deals swayed the export decision.

Commerce reclassified the UAE last month under Country Group A:5, a looser export tier letting some sensitive technology ship under blanket exemptions rather than individual licenses.

That benefits the UAE government, G42 and its cloud arm Core42 by easing access to high-end computing gear.

Commerce also pledged to favorably review license applications for chips and servers headed to MGX, a major investor in OpenAI and Anthropic.

Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, called the timing alarming. She noted that Sheikh Tahnoon reportedly lobbied U.S. officials to approve chip imports before Commerce made its move.

She said Commerce departed from its usual approach, since every other nation given similar treatment belongs to at least one of four major international export-control pacts. The UAE has joined none of them.

She pressed Commerce on how it plans to stop restricted tech from reaching banned users, and asked whether chips shipped to G42 could reach entities tied to China’s military or spy agencies.

Commerce has stood by the shift, framing the UAE as a key American defense ally that supports U.S. security interests, including the military campaign against Iran called Operation Epic Fury.

The agency says its updated rules still keep sensitive technology out of prohibited hands.

Warren has given Lutnick seven sets of questions to answer and wants him, along with Bureau of Industry and Security chief Jeffrey Kessler, to appear before Congress.

(With files from CNBC)