Free trade and culture : a study of relevant WTO rules and constraints on national cultural policy measures / Peter van den Bossche ; [forword by Cas Smithuijsen].
Free trade and culture : a study of relevant WTO rules and constraints on national cultural policy measures / Peter van den Bossche ; [forword by Cas Smithuijsen].
Trade liberalisation and technological innovations have brought down many barriers that in the past obstructed the free cross-border circulation of cultural goods and services. In the opinion of many artists, cultural policy makers, executives of the cultural industry and other representatives of the cultural sector, national cultural identities and cultural diversity are threatened by economic globalization and in desperate need of protection and support. In response to calls for action, the governments of many countries have adopted measures in favour of domestic cultural goods and services. The question often arises whether these measures are consistent with obligations under international law, in particular the law of the WTO. Survey of the relevant WTO obligations and exceptions and to what extent the law of the WTO allows countries to take unilateral measures for the protection or promotion of their national culture.
Note
CD-ROM contains annexes 3 - 6: Excerpts from WTO Agreements, Schedules of concessions in goods, Schedules of specific commitments (services), UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions - Art. 20.
Formatted Contents Note
I. Introduction; II. Culture and cultural protectionism; III. General overview of WTO law; IV. Relevant obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994); V. Relevant exceptions to the obligations under the GATT 1994; VI. Relevant obligations and exceptions under other multilateral agreements on trade in goods; VII. Relevant obligations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); VIII. Relevant exceptions to the obligations under the GATS; IX. Relevant obligations and exceptions under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).