Yes Torian has similar techs, but the techs are different.
Xeno commerce: Torians get healing waters instead of entertainment centers. Healing waters give a little more approval (I believe) and give adjacencies to every type of improvement.
Interstellar travel: Torians have different life support systems. One systems gives more range than the standard ones, but also has more mass. (their colony module also is a range extension)
A lot of the Torian techs have their own names, since the Torians have quite a few special improvements and ship components, the most early techs aren't tradable. But Advance Construction and subsequent should be tradable again. Weapons should also be tradable.
Several tech trees are similar but different. For instance the Yor and Drengin tech trees have different names to techs which do different things and unlock different things yet they are cross trade-able. When you trade these techs it actually shows the player what the tech is equivalent to in their tech tree and allows it to be traded.
As far as Interstellar travel w/ the Torians having a different life support system so they adapt it a different way. It's still called Interstellar Travel and, is located in the exact same part of the tech tree and the cost is the same as other tech trees at 42 so I don't see a reason this shouldn't be able to be traded.
As far as Xeno Commerce: So this unlocks different buildings, not every faction uses the same buildings, just similar so unlocking extra approval buildings still doesn't add up. It appears something is broken with them cross linking to different tech trees.
Overall if they don't want same named techs to trade between factions so be it, however, by making same name techs examples above not able to be traded between factions than that just creates a whole other level of confusion for the players. So I move that if these in fact should not be able to be traded between players that one they make it that the names are different as well as then making all unlike techs throughout the game that the name does not match not able to be traded (which I don't like that option). Or still change the names of techs that can't be traded so they don't match like techs but, then make a tool tip that this tech can't be traded between factions because of "this tech does not match any tech in any other tech tree or this tech is only trade-able with the iconians because this matches w/ this like tech.)
I still feel these were intended to be trade-able they just aren't currently. Although we would need Stardock to reply to know for sure.
