Recently, the USA decided to support India’s membership in multilateral 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 minimise 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 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?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation
Neither 1 nor 2
| Feature | Australia Group (AG) | Wassenaar Arrangement |
| Type | Informal forum of countries | Voluntary export control regime |
| Objective | To ensure exports do not contribute to chemical or biological weapons development | To control the export of dual-use goods and technologies |
| Origin | Formed in 1985, prompted by Iraq’s use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War | Formally established in July 1996 |
| Members | 43 members (including the European Union) | 42 member states, mostly NATO and EU states |
| Control Lists | Has a list of 54 compounds to be regulated in global trade | Has control lists documenting dual-use goods and technologies |
| India’s Membership | India joined on 19 January 2018 | India became the 42nd member on 7 December 2017 |
