US Lawmaker Urges Probe of UAE Firm G42’s Ties to China

Mackenzie Hawkins
·2 min read
4

(Bloomberg) -- A key US lawmaker is urging the Commerce Department to consider trade restrictions on Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence firm Group 42 Holdings over its ties to China.

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House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, raised concerns about G42’s relationships with blacklisted Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co. and Beijing Genomics Institute, as well as risks to research at US universities.

Gallagher urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to consider sanctions on G42 and thirteen of its subsidiaries and affiliates, including five that he says have links to Emirati cybersecurity firm DarkMatter. US firms would then have to obtain a government license before shipping goods to those companies.

Gallagher wrote in a letter dated Jan. 3 that his congressional committee reviewed documents showing G42’s ties to an “expansive network” of Emerati and Chinese firms that support human rights abuses and Beijing’s military advancement. The letter didn’t include the source or type of the documents reviewed. He asked the Commerce Department to act by Feb. 2 or provide an explanation why it won’t.

The demand is the the latest escalation of Gallagher’s efforts to push the Biden administration to clamp down on Chinese firms or companies with ties to Washington’s top geopolitical rival. Last week, he reiterated a call for the US to restrict access to capital for Chinese internet device firm Quectel Wireless Solutions Co.

G42 has ties to American firms including OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. But US officials are also growing increasingly concerned about financial flows from the United Arab Emirates to Beijing, which they worry pose a national security risk in critical technology areas.

A Commerce Department spokesperson said the agency has received the letter and will “respond through the appropriate channels.” G42 didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Adds Commerce Department comment.)

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