Q. Recently, the USA decided to support India's membership in multi-lateral export control regimes called the "Australia Group" and the "Wassenaar Arrangement". What is the difference between them?
- The Australia Group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the Wassenaar Arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives.
- The Australia Group comprises predominantly of Asian, African and North American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar Arrangement are predominantly from the European Union and American continents.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2011)
Answer:
Neither 1 nor 2
Notes: The correct answer is
Neither 1 nor 2. Both statements contain significant factual inaccuracies regarding the nature, mandates, and compositions of these export control regimes.
- Statement 1 is Incorrect: While the Australia Group (AG) is indeed an informal arrangement focused on chemical and biological weapons, the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) is not under the OECD. Like the AG, the Wassenaar Arrangement is a voluntary, informal export control regime. Furthermore, their objectives are not identical: the AG focuses on chemical and biological agents, whereas the WA focuses on conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
- Statement 2 is Incorrect: Both regimes have very similar memberships that are predominantly European and North American (including many NATO and EU members). There is very little representation from Africa in either group. For example, the Australia Group includes the European Union and various non-European developed nations like Japan and South Korea, while the Wassenaar Arrangement includes Russia and several former Eastern Bloc countries.