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"This book attempts to reconcile the concept of free trade with a key non-trade social value - cultural diversity - in an era of economic globalisation. It first shows how we can look at culture in many different ways, and explains why we should care about cultural diversity. The book then examines the challenges that policymakers are faced with in formulating cultural measures in the new media environment, and analyses UNESCO's theories and approaches to cultural diversity. This is followed by a comprehensive examination of the treatment of 'culture' in global and regional trade agreements, including the framework of the GATT/WTO system, the WTO's judicial practice involving cultural products, and the treatment of culture under the EC/EU and NAFTA. This identifies the challenges trade norms encounter in dealing with cultural products. The author seeks to formulate a balanced view of the challenge of protecting and promoting cultural diversity while also recognising the important goal of trade liberalisation. To this end Professor Shi proposes a dual method through which the norms found in WTO agreements and in UNESCO cultural instruments may be brought into alignment: the first highlighting the compatibility of cultural policy measures with trade obligations on a domestic level, the second suggesting potential linkages between the WTO rules and the UNESCO Convention from the perspectives of treaty interpretation."

Cover; Prelims; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Contents; Table of GATT/WTO Reports and Rulings; 1. Introduction: Globalisation as the Context; 2. Culture and Cultures in Comparative Perspectives: Towards a Synthesis; 3. Domestic Cultural Policy and Measures: The Case of the Audiovisual Sector; 4. UNESCO and Cultural Diversity: Theories and Approaches; 5. The Treatment of Culture in the GATT/WTO (I): Theoretical and Legislative Framework; 6. The Treatment of Culture under the GATT/WTO (II): Case Study and Identification of Problems

Publication date: 12 July 2021 ; Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, members have done little to adapt and expand the rules of the game for policies that affect trade in services. Structural transformation trends that are increasing the role of services in economic activity have not been accompanied by revision of WTO rules and coverage, reducing the salience of the organisation. Ongoing talks among groups of WTO members on e-commerce and domestic regulation of services will help to fill the gap, but need to be complemented by action to update and expand the coverage of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). China and the European Union (EU), for different reasons, have a strong interest in expanding services trade, as do India and the United States (US), providing the basis for a China-EU led plurilateral initiative to resuscitate talks on trade in services in the WTO.