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Welcome to trade.culture.info – a resource for anyone interested in trade concerning arts and culture. Scroll down past the news feature to view useful links and resources – these are summarised in the column to the right – covering both practical needs as well as current & recent research in the area.
NEWS AND COMMENTS
More news coming soon...
This topic links to issues of cultural diversity – please see diverse.culture.info for further information on this topic. If you would like to add to this webpage, please send details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
GLOSSARY (links to organisations listed here are in the following section)
Free trade
Free trade of goods and services between countries
GATS
The WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATT
The WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
MAI
Multilateral Agreement on Investment
TRIPS
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization
WTO
World Trade Organisation
- World Trade Organisation (WTO)
- GATT
- GATS
- TRIPS
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics includes recent publications in this area)
Europe
- European Parliament: Resolution on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) within the WTO, including cultural diversity - 12 March 2003 (pdf)
- European Parliament: Services Directive
- European Commission: Trade Issues
- Council of Europe: Towards a transversal strategy for promoting cultural diversity
- OECD: MAI
- EUMAP: Television across Europe
STATEMENTS FROM KEY ORGANISATIONS
- EBLIDA (European Library and archive association) statement on the WTO GATS negotiations. Libraries and trade in services (pdf)
- European Audiovisual Observatory Media Law & Policy
- European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, Final Declaration (pdf), Meeting in Brussels, 17-18 January 2006
- ICOM (International Council of Museums) news: Boylan, Patrick: Culture and World Trade (pdf)
- IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) position on the World Trade Organisation
- INCD (International Network for Cultural Diversity) WTO Trade Negotiations: Doha Development Agenda Threatens Cultural Diversity (pdf)
- WTO (World Tourism Organisation). Fair Trade and Tourism in the Framework of the Programme of Work of the World Tourism Organisation for the Period 2006-2007 (pdf)
DOCUMENTS & BIBLIOGRAPHIES
UNESCO has a bibliography on “Culture, Trade and Globalization” which can be accessed by clicking here.
A Selected Bibliography on International Law and the Protection of Cultural Diversity has also been compiled by P Van den Bossche and A Dahrendorf from Maastricht University as part of the WTO Law and Culture Project funded by the Boekman Foundation, Amsterdam (November 2006) and this can be accessed from the website of CUPORE, the Foundation for Cultural Policy Research in Finland.
Articles of Interest
- Freedman, Des. 2005. GATS and the audiovisual sector. An update. Global Media and Communication. Volume 1(1): 124-128. SAGE Publications.
- Herold, Anna. 2003. European Public Film Support within the WTO Framework. IRIS plus, Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory, Issue 2003-6.
- Neuwirth, Rostam J. 2002. The Cultural Industries and the Legacy of Article IV GATT: Rethinking the Relation of Culture and Trade in Light of the New WTO Round. Paper presented at Conference on Cultural Traffic: Policy, Culture, and the New Technologies in the European Union and Canada, Carleton University, 22-23 November 2002.
- Pauwels, Caroline & Loisen, Jan. 2003. The WTO and the Audiovisual Sector. Economic Free Trade vs Cultural Horse Trading. European Journal of Communication, Vol. 18, No. 3, 291-313 (2003). SAGE Publications.
- Wiedemann, Verena. 2004. Cultural Diversity: The Central Mission of Public Service Broadcasting at the Crossroads of WTO and UNESCO. Paper presented on December 11th 2003 at the World Electronic Media Forum, Geneva.
- Widemann, Verena. 2004. Public Service Broadcasting, State aid, and the Internet: Emerging EU Law. In Diffusion online 2004/47.
- Barlow, Maude. 2001. The Global Monoculture: ‘Free Trade’ Versus Culture and Democracy. Earth Island Journal. Autumn 2001.
- Broude, Tomer. 2005. "Taking 'Trade and Culture' Seriously: Geographical Indications and Cultural Protection in WTO Law" (May 1, 2005). SSRN Electronic Paper Collection.
- Frau-Meigs, Divina. “Cultural exception”, national policies and globalisation: imperatives in democratisation and promotion of contemporary culture. Quaderns del CAC. Issue 14.
- Graber, Christoph Beat. 2006. The New UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity: a Counterbalance to the WTO? Journal of International Economic Law Vol. 9 No 3. Oxford University Press. 2006. NOTE! FULL TEXT OF THIS ARTICLE IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS OR ON A PAY PER ARTICLE BASIS.
- Jamieson, Bruce. 2000. Trade Liberalization: Culture, Identity and Social Cohesion. Department of Canadian Heritage (PDF). Available on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
- Palma Martos, Maria Luisa & Palma Martos, Luis. 2006. Fixed Book Pricing in Spain: A Debate Between Economic Efficiency and Cultural Diversity (doc). Paper presented on 6-9 July 2006 at 14th International Conference of the ACEI, Vienna.
- Tunney, James. 2004. World Trade Law, Culture, Heritage and Tourism. Towards a Holistic Conceptual Approach? Current Issues in Tourism. Vol 7, No. 4&5. (full text of this article is only available to subscribers or on a pay per article basis).




