President Trump is in a tight spot.

Amid the global race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI), Trump is facing growing pressure to withhold emerging American technology from foreign adversaries while making sure U.S. chipmakers dominate the global stage.

Trump’s tech policy was a priority of his visit last week to the Middle East, where he signed a slew of multibillion-dollar AI deals between U.S. companies and Gulf countries.

While the White House argued the investment will increase U.S. technology companies' global footprint, the idea of selling American-made AI chips to Gulf countries also raised security concerns back in the U.S.

“The Trump administration is trying to walk a geopolitical tightrope,” emerging tech and geopolitical researcher Tobias Feakin told The Hill.

“It wants to contain China’s AI ambitions without choking off the global reach of its own tech champions,” Feakin added. “That’s an increasingly difficult balance to maintain in a world where supply chains, research ecosystems, and compute infrastructure are transnational by design.”

Gulf deals draw scrutiny

The backlash is highlighting the dilemma the White House faces in balancing innovation and national security.

AI chips are a critical component to the AI race, serving as the power for AI technology. The AI chips are specifically designed to meet the high demands of AI functions, which is not possible with traditional chips.

Washington is increasingly concerned with China getting its hands on American tech, including if it comes through third-party deals. In response to those fears, both the Biden and Trump administrations have tightened export controls on advanced chips.

Fears ramped up among lawmakers and government officials earlier this year following the release of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s new, high-performing models, which the firm claims were built at the fraction of the price of U.S. models.

Reports have circulated of U.S.-made chips being smuggled into China despite the tightened export controls.

Republican Rep. John Moolenaar (Mich.), the chair of the House Select Committee on China, said any AI deal needs “scrutiny and verifiable guardrails.” He expressed concerns with deals under consideration between the Trump administration and Abu-Dhabi based firm G42, which

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