| Date | 10 Jul 2026 |
|---|---|
| Region | U.S. & Allies |
The country-group upgrade is not a general opening: advanced-computing items stay licensed to the United Arab Emirates except for government agencies, Group 42 Holding Ltd and Core42 Technology Projects LLC, and eight named U.S. AI firms, and the G42 and Core42 entries expire on April 6, 2027 absent a later Bureau of Industry and Security notice.
IN BRIEF: Effective July 10, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security removed the United Arab Emirates from Country Groups D:3 and D:4, added it to Country Group A:5, and authorized license-free advanced computing only for approved parties listed in new Supplement No. 8 to 15 CFR Part 740, according to Federal Register Doc. 2026-14132 (91 FR 43034).
RECORD:
Date: Effective July 10, 2026; published July 14, 2026
Beat: Chip-War Control Ledger
Jurisdiction: United States (Export Administration Regulations); United Arab Emirates
Entity: Bureau of Industry and Security; United Arab Emirates; Group 42 Holding Ltd (G42); Core42 Technology Projects LLC (Core42)
Instrument / cite: FR Doc. 2026-14132; 91 FR 43034–43039; RIN 0694-AK54; Docket No. 260710-0168; 15 CFR Parts 740, 742, and 774
Source type: Federal Register final rule
Confidence: confirmed
Record ID: N/A
Source: GovInfo
The Bureau of Industry and Security did not open the United Arab Emirates to uncontrolled advanced computing. In a final rule effective July 10, 2026, BIS removed the UAE from Country Groups D:3 and D:4, added it to Country Group A:5, and then kept a license requirement on advanced computing items to or within the UAE except where the ultimate consignee and all end users are parties named in a new Supplement No. 8 to Part 740. The published summary states that the UAE Government and approved commercial entities will have license-free access to advanced computing items, “consistent with the May 2025 U.S.-UAE Artificial Intelligence Cooperation framework, without compromising U.S. digital infrastructure buildout.”
The instrument is “Enhanced Favorable Treatment for the United Arab Emirates Under the Export Administration Regulations,” FR Doc. 2026-14132, 91 FR 43034–43039, Federal Register Volume 91, Number 133, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The rule carries RIN 0694-AK54 and Docket No. 260710-0168, and it amends 15 CFR Parts 740, 742, and 774. Jeffrey I. Kessler, Under Secretary for Industry and Security, signed it. Questions go to Philip Johnson, Chief of Staff, Export Administration, at (202) 482-2440. The dates line is a single sentence: “This rule is effective July 10, 2026.”
Removal from D:3 (Chemical & Biological) and D:4 (Missile Technology) is the broader trade change. BIS states that License Exception Temporary Imports, Exports, Reexports, and Transfers (in-country) (TMP) had been unavailable for in-transit shipments destined to the UAE and for temporary exports for marketing or display of items controlled for chemical and biological or missile technology reasons. The rule’s example is a missile-technology-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle that could not be exported for display at a defense trade show in the UAE under TMP. License Exceptions GOV and APR were generally unavailable, use of TSU and AVS was restricted for missile-technology-controlled items, and certain provisions of ACE and BAG were unavailable. Those restrictions fall with the country-group change. License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization does not. New § 740.2(a)(26) confines STA for items destined to or within the UAE to approved entities in Supplement No. 8 that are specified as approved for STA. The A:5 entry carries a footnote to that restriction.
Where STA does apply, the summary says it authorizes export, reexport, or transfer (in-country) of military items, certain commercial satellites and spacecraft, and dual-use items useful in oil and gas production, desalination, and civil nuclear power generation. The supplementary text adds semiconductor packaging to that commercial set, subject to § 740.20 and the general restrictions in § 740.2. Eligibility is not the UAE as a destination. It is a named-party list.
Supplement No. 8 creates three positions. Paragraph (a) approves government agencies of the UAE, including the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces, as of July 10, 2026, both for advanced computing items license-free consistent with § 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(A)–(B) and for full use of License Exception STA. The same paragraph states: “This approval does not extend to UAE state-owned corporations or to contractors or grantees of UAE government agencies.” The preamble repeats the limit: approval of UAE government agencies does not extend to government-owned corporations or contractors and grantees.
Paragraph (b) names two commercial entities, and only for advanced computing. The table lists Group 42 Holding Ltd d/b/a/G42, including G42 Cloud Technology LLC, and Core42 Technology Projects LLC d/b/a/Core42. Both address cells are marked [RESERVED]. The authorization column for each reads advanced computing items consistent with § 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(A)–(B). It does not list License Exception STA. Note 2 to paragraph (b) states: “Absent subsequent notice by BIS, the authorization provided for G42 and Core42 in this supplement shall automatically expire on April 6, 2027.” The preamble ties that date to corporate status: “If the two UAE-based AI companies fail to become U.S. companies on or before April 6, 2027, they will need to apply for authorization pursuant to the Sec. 748.3(c) process to maintain their approved status.”
Paragraph (c) is the durable commercial tier. U.S.-headquartered AI companies specified in the table, and their subsidiaries, may receive advanced computing items license-free under the same § 742.6 provision and may use full License Exception STA. The table names Amazon.com, Inc.; Apple, Inc.; Google LLC; Meta Platforms, Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; OpenAI Group PBC; Oracle Corporation; and X.AI LLC. BIS states that this will allow such entities to receive security equipment, such as thermal imaging cameras, and certain other Commerce Control List items to enable data center buildouts in the UAE under License Exception STA. Approval of a U.S.-headquartered AI entity extends to its subsidiaries.
The license requirement itself was rewritten so the A:5 move would not erase it. BIS says it is enforcing the worldwide license requirement in § 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(A) for ECCNs 3A090.a, 4A090.a, and related “.z” items only to Country Groups D:1, D:4, or D:5, excluding destinations also in A:5 or A:6, and to entities headquartered in, or with an ultimate parent headquartered in, Country Group D:5 or Macau. That enforcement posture is described as consistent with BIS guidance of May 13, 2025, and May 31, 2026. The rule then states that, although the UAE leaves D:4 and enters A:5, BIS will continue enforcing that license requirement to or within the UAE except when the ultimate consignee and all end users are UAE Government entities or approved commercial entities listed in Supplement No. 8 and specified as approved to receive the items license-free. Because D:4 removal would otherwise have dropped the “.b” controls, BIS revised § 742.6(a)(6)(iii)(B) to name the UAE and retain license requirements for ECCNs 3A001.z.1.b through z.4.b, 3A090.b, related software and technology, 4A003.z, 4A004.z.2, 4A005.z.2, 4A090.b, and the listed 5A/5D/5E “.z” and “.b” items, with the same approved-entity exception. Country Chart text in ECCNs 3A001, 3A090, 3D001, 4A003, 4A004, 4A005, 4A090, 4D001, 4D090, 4E001, 5A002, 5A004, 5A992, 5D002, 5D992, 5E002, and 5E992 was revised to name the UAE. BIS also notes that approval in Supplement No. 8 does not overcome the end-use and end-user license requirements in Part 744 of the EAR.
Parties not on the list may ask to be added. A request goes in as an advisory opinion under § 748.3(c). Within 30 days, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, determines whether the entity should be approved and whether the scope is advanced computing, STA, or both. BIS notifies the requestor within five days of a determination and, if approved, starts the process of adding the party to Supplement No. 8. The rule’s stated basis for the country treatment is the September 2024 designation of the UAE as a Major Defense Partner, a May 2025 technology cooperation deal covering AI and semiconductors, UAE foreign direct investment in the United States “valued at over $1 trillion,” and a BIS Export Control Officer presence in the UAE. Those are assertions in the rule, not separate findings.
WHY IT MATTERS: Founders and buyers pricing UAE data-center or defense-adjacent supply should read Supplement No. 8, not the A:5 label. Government agencies and the eight named U.S. firms, with their subsidiaries, hold both the advanced-computing carve-out and STA. G42 and Core42 hold only the computing carve-out, and that entry ends on April 6, 2027 unless BIS publishes a subsequent notice or the companies obtain a fresh § 748.3(c) authorization after failing to become U.S. companies by that date. Everyone else in the UAE remains on the license requirement, and Part 744 still applies to the parties that are listed.