Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Trump Administration’s Reckless Chip Deal With Saudi Arabia And The UAE, Exposing Security Risks With China

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to warn against a dangerous and shortsighted chip deal being pursued by the Trump administration that could compromise American national security and leak advanced AI technology to China. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Donald Trump says he is strong on China. But his trip to the Middle East shows once again this is mostly talk with little substance.

Just like in his recent reduction in tariffs with China, America got almost nothing and China got everything. Again, the chip deal shows that the Chinese government is running circles around Donald Trump.

Right now, the Trump administration is in talks for a so-called “chip deal” with Saudi Arabia and the UAE that would greenlight the sale of the most sensitive U.S. chip technology in exchange for vague promises of more foreign investment.

This deal could very well be dangerous, because we have no clarity on how the Saudis and Emiratis will prevent the CCP from getting their hands on these chips.

Inevitably, when foreign countries end up with American-made chips, the CCP – the Chinese Communist Party – sooner or later gets a hold of these American chips and their secrets in them.

This deal screams “security risk” and “loophole” as China could be ready to exploit American technology.

No respected security expert will tell you with a straight face that these advanced chips won’t eventually find their way into the AI supercomputers of the Chinese government and manufacturers.

And I'm not the only one worried. It's not just Democrats worried on this. Thank God, the Republican Chair of the House Select Committee on the CCP has expressed similar concerns about these deals.

Even worse, if we send our best chips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, we will be giving them the tools they need to build the best AI supercomputers in the world in their countries, not in America.

What's this about bringing jobs and high-end technology back to the country, which we Democrats worked so long and hard to do successfully in the CHIPS and Science bill?

All of a sudden, it's okay to give it to other countries – especially other countries whose security might be not as tight as ours – and allow the Chinese government to get ahold of these these chips?

I urge Secretary Rubio, who has been a China hawk, and Secretary Lutnick to prevent these deals from proceeding until we have be dead certain that these chips won’t make their way into Chinese government’s hands.

Remember that earlier this year, Deepseek announced the development of an incredibly powerful AI model built with American chips. We have to double down on blocking the flow of our AI chips to China, directly and indirectly through third countries.

The Trump administration also needs to protect against the offshoring of American AI technology.

AI is the industry of our time; it should proudly be “Made in America” by American workers, not sent overseas to the highest bidder.

Why did Trump make this deal? Who the heck knows.

The way he trades for things for his own personal aggrandizement and for his own ego and to please a few of his friends? Lord knows why they're getting ahold of these chips, and what was done in exchange that made Trump happy.

If Donald Trump’s goal in the Middle East is to enrich himself long term, then by all accounts he is knocking it out of the park.

But if his goal is to ensure American security and American AI leadership, this deal would be like a stick of lit dynamite.

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