Multilateral Trade Rules on Cultural Industry : Issues and Outlook of the DDA

문화산업분야 다자통상규범 : DDA의 쟁점 및 전망

Since the launch of the GATT system, one of the most controversial topics in trade liberalization has been the conflict between culture and trade. The sticking point has been the necessity of cultural exceptions in trade rules. Some countries do not wish to allow further exceptions to basic principles even in cultural industry, while many other countries make their efforts to obtain "cultural safety valve." The latter group asserts that it is indispensable for the protection of cultural identity, whereas the former seems to doubt the truth of the assertion. That is because cultural policy measure possibly constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries, or a disguised barriers to trade in cultural products. Unfortunately, cultural exceptions still remain unresolved in the WTO, the successor to the GATT. This paper is to review the history and rules of multilateral trading system on cultural industry, address the critical issues to deal with in the DDA negotiations, and lastly provide some perspectives on the appropriate shape of the cultural safety valve.