Q. Consider the following statements: - Statement-I: Recently, the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) have launched the Trade and Technology Council.
- Statement-II: The USA and the EU claim that through this they are trying to bring technological progress and physical productivity under their control.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? (UPSC Prelims 2023)
Answer:
Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
Notes: The correct answer is
[C] Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect. This question focuses on contemporary international diplomatic and technological alliances.
- Statement-I (Correct): The USA and the European Union officially launched the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) during the EU-US Summit in Brussels in June 2021. The council serves as a high-level forum to coordinate approaches to key global trade, economic, and technology issues and to deepen transatlantic trade and investment relations.
- Statement-II (Incorrect): While the TTC aims to foster innovation and protect emerging technologies, the USA and EU do not claim they are trying to bring technological progress and physical productivity "under their control." Instead, the stated goals are to promote democratic values, ensure supply chain resilience (especially in semiconductors), set global standards for emerging technologies (like AI), and promote a human-centric digital transformation. The rhetoric is focused on cooperation and competition with non-market economies rather than global "control" of productivity.
The TTC operates through ten working groups covering areas such as technology standards, climate and green tech, ICT security, and export controls.