The United Arab Emirates is making a major financial play in the United States, announcing a $1.4 trillion investment framework over the next decade, according to a statement from the White House. The commitment comes after high-level meetings between UAE officials and President Donald Trump this week in Washington.
The massive framework is expected to dramatically boost UAE’s existing investments in the U.S., focusing on cutting-edge sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing. While the White House didn’t provide a detailed breakdown of how the full $1.4 trillion figure will be met, some of the agreements highlighted have already been previously announced.
One entirely new piece of the deal stands out: an investment by Emirates Global Aluminum to build what would be the first new aluminum smelter in the U.S. in 35 years. The White House said the facility could nearly double domestic aluminum production. A spokesperson for EGA confirmed that building a smelter in the U.S. has been a long-term goal.
This move reflects the UAE’s broader push to deepen economic ties with the U.S. while shifting its own economy away from oil dependence. With ambitions to become a global leader in AI and technology, the Gulf nation is stepping up its presence in sectors where the U.S. remains a global powerhouse.
President Trump’s administration has been aggressively courting foreign investment, especially from Gulf states. In January, Trump called on Saudi Arabia to pump $1 trillion into the U.S. economy over four years, and just recently, he signaled that his first foreign trip since returning to office could be to the kingdom to finalize a major deal.
As for the UAE deal, the White House said it was the result of a Tuesday meeting between Trump and UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, followed by a dinner hosted by Vice President JD Vance and top Cabinet officials. The UAE delegation included leaders from some of the country’s largest sovereign wealth funds and corporations.
Among the investment tie-ups emphasized was a partnership between the UAE’s ADQ and U.S. private equity firm Energy Capital Partners for a $25 billion initiative focused on U.S. energy infrastructure and data centers—a deal that was announced just days earlier. Another already-public commitment includes ADNOC’s investment through its XRG arm in the NextDecade LNG export facility in Texas, which was first revealed under the previous administration.
While some of the deal’s components aren’t entirely new, the scale and intent behind the UAE’s $1.4 trillion framework signal a renewed focus on strengthening its financial and strategic footprint in the U.S.—and Washington appears more than ready to welcome it.
