Gulf states need ‘guardrails’ to keep U.S. technology secure

Backed by trillions of dollars in sovereign wealth, Gulf companies will have enormous opportunities to team up with U.S. developers of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies as long as they protect American know-how, a key Biden administration security official said.

“The U.S. is going to expect partner countries to impose some guardrails in terms of critical technology and capability and data getting into Chinese government hands,” Robert Silvers, who served as the Department of Homeland Security’s Undersecretary for Policy, said in an interview with The Circuit. “The Biden administration has begun those discussions, and I expect the Trump administration will continue them,” he said.

Silvers, a 44-year-old native New Yorker, wrapped up three and a half years as DHS Undersecretary in December. He was previously the agency’s Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy during the Obama administration. In between, Silvers was a Partner at the Washington law firm Paul Hastings, advising clients on cybersecurity, internal investigations and “the challenges at the crossroads of law and national security.”

His remarks in a telephone interview with The Circuit have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

It seems virtually every Silicon Valley CEO has been making the rounds in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. What’s your view of U.S.-Gulf partnerships as you leave your policymaking role?

We’re at a moment where the U.S. and the Gulf countries could come together for a mutually transformational opportunity. That stands for the companies in each region and it stands for The countries themselves. There’s a massive opportunity to bring all of that capital from the Gulf region behind data center construction and other innovation infrastructure that supports U.S. technology – and also to bring in the innovative spirit that is animating so much development and business growth in the Gulf. There’s opportunity to have U.S. companies partner with countries in the Gulf and industry there to bring U.S. technology services to emerging markets all over the world. It’s not just about what’s happening in the Gulf or what’s happening in the United States.

This is about the spread of technology around the world, and in particular, the spread of transformational AI technology and cooperation between the countries at the government-to-government level and the company-to-company level. It’s an opportunity to further establish America’s position as the leading tech powerhouse in the world by bringing on board strategic and investment partners from the region, who are going to reap enormous benefits from those investments as well.

And now I think the U.S. is going to expect partner countries to impose some guardrails in terms of critical technology and capability and data getting into Chinese government hands. The Biden administration has begun those discussions, and I expect the Trump administration will continue them. That all has to be worked through, but I’m extremely optimistic that it can be worked through in a way that’s good for everyone’s economies, everyone’s technology growth and everyone’s security.

China is well embedded in the Middle East business world, as well as across Africa. How can companies learn what does and doesn’t conflict with U.S. interests?

Well, I think that you deal with that through candid conversations at the government-to-government level and at the company-to-company level. Sometimes, that happens together all at once, and you have to reach mutually acceptable understandings about how to proceed in a way that works for everyone. It’s a complex world, but it’s one where there are deals to be made that can protect everyone’s interests. I think everyone sees that, which is why I think the governments on both sides are enthusiastic, regardless of administration. And the companies are enthusiastic too.

You know that parts of the Gulf have become magnets for bad guys and the UAE has worked hard to get removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s Gray List. What progress have you seen in international law enforcement?

Listen, law enforcement agencies have to be able to work together. They have to be able to investigate and prosecute money laundering crimes where they occur and all that can be done while at the same time having a spirit of innovation and allowing technology to be developed and adopted widely.

There are so many opportunities for other kinds of exchange between the United States and the region beyond just technology. For example, Qatar hosted a highly successful World Cup in 2022. Well, the United States, along with Canada and Mexico, are the next hosts of the World Cup in 2026, and Qatar has offered to provide lessons learned and support as we engage in the preparation for for those incredible events. I was in Doha in the summer of 2022, delivering a security assistance package to help them and support them in the hosting of their games so the relationships can play out at the economic, business, political level, and cultural and sporting levels. And I think you’re just going to see more of that.

What tools does the U.S. have to safeguard its most sensitive intellectual property and how are they being used?

Well, the highest-end technologies in areas like artificial intelligence and semiconductors can be used for incredible civilian purposes. Still, they can also be used for military purposes, and it’s been the policy of the United States, across from the Trump administration into the Biden administration, to limit China’s access to highly sensitive technologies that can be used for direct military purposes. That’s just the national security imperative, and one way that the U.S. government does that is through the CFIUS process – the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

CFIUS is a multi-agency panel that reviews inbound investment for potential national security concerns, and it has the power to block deals that are deemed to threaten U.S. national security. A lot of CFIUS’s focus in recent years has been on ensuring that China does not gain access to sensitive technologies or sensitive data and investors. Dealmakers from all parts of the world need to often run their investments through CFIUS. So in structuring the deals and in considering what technology or data they share with downstream partners, they need to consider how CFIUS is going to view that. And that includes sovereign wealth funds and other investment managers in the Gulf region. I was the DHS senior guy on CFIUS, and you saw these trends accelerating, of very close scrutiny, of ever more deals, particularly where there was a nexus to China.

How do you see your work on securing American technology carrying over into the Trump administration?

If an investor is taking a controlling interest in a U.S. business or gaining access to critical U.S. technology, then that deal may be subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. The investor will need to satisfy CFIUS that the technology isn’t going to go to the adversaries of the United States. That might come down to what kind of cybersecurity controls are in place, what kind of limitations are there on data or technology being transferred from the investor to places like China and all of that gets reviewed closely. I expect the incoming administration to use CFIUS with a very strong hand. So on the front end, investors and deal makers need to think about how their investments are going to proceed through that process.