President Trump’s Middle East tour has included an unprecedented wave of American technology deals across the Gulf region, proving once again that when American companies are free to compete globally, they can win decisively. The tour has secured $600 billion in commitments from Saudi Arabia alone, with a flurry of landmark AI infrastructure agreements that cement U.S. technological primacy where it matters most – in the global marketplace.
These deals are a concrete manifestation of American technological dominance:
- Nvidia will supply “several hundred thousand” of its most advanced AI processors to Saudi Arabia over five years, starting with 18,000 cutting-edge Blackwell chips
- AMD formed a $10 billion strategic partnership with Saudi AI firm Humain to deploy 500 megawatts of AI hardware infrastructure
- Amazon will invest over $5 billion to build an “AI zone” in Saudi Arabia, leveraging AWS technologies
While Gulf nations secure access to American technology, we gain far more than export revenue. Saudi Arabia’s DataVolt will invest $20 billion in AI data centers and energy infrastructure in the United States. This two-way flow represents exactly the kind of strategic technology partnership that helps America maintain its edge.
Revoking the Disastrous Diffusion Rule: Letting America Compete Again
The Trump administration’s move to rescind Biden’s misguided “AI diffusion rule” is the essential policy shift enabling these partnerships. The shortsighted regulation would have severely handicapped American companies while creating an opening for Chinese competitors to capture critical international markets.
By prioritizing case-by-case agreements over rigid tiers of access, the new approach is far superior for both American companies and that national security teams in the administration. White House AI adviser David Sacks captured this perfectly, saying “The country that builds its partner ecosystem the fastest is the one that can win this high-stakes competition.”
The previous diffusion rule failed both tactically and strategically. When American companies can’t sell their products abroad, they lose revenue and the capital needed to fund next-generation R&D that maintains our technological edge. Meanwhile, countries seeking AI capabilities don’t simply wait – they turn to alternative suppliers, primarily from China.
Trump’s diplomatic wins and landmark deals will likely establish the Gulf as a third major AI power center alongside the United States and China – one firmly anchored in American technology.
The United Arab Emirates alone may import 500,000 advanced Nvidia chips annually through 2027, creating a foundation for data centers powered by U.S. technology. Every Nvidia or AMD chip deployed in Saudi Arabia or the UAE eliminates a market opportunity for Huawei’s competing Ascend processors. Every AWS-powered cloud service adopted by Gulf partners delivers a strategic victory in the global competition for AI dominance.
Even as this deal-making advances, the administration has maintained appropriate guardrails – notably by explicitly stating that use of Huawei’s new AI chips would violate American export controls.
The Path Forward: America Wins When America Competes
The lesson of Trump’s Middle East tour is clear: American companies don’t need protection from global competition – they need freedom to pursue it. Our technological edge isn’t maintained by hiding behind regulatory walls, but by aggressively building global partnerships that leverage our strengths.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Gulf leaders recognize the transformative potential of AI for their economies. They could have turned to Chinese partners for this transition, but they chose American technology.
As we’ve argued consistently, the Biden diffusion rule would have provided CCP-backed companies like Huawei a critical opening to capture vast market share across emerging technology hubs. Instead, Gulf nations are now firmly anchored in America’s technology ecosystem, strengthening our position in the global AI race.
This is how America wins – not through regulatory retreat, but through bold engagement that extends our technological advantages worldwide.
