Cultural Industries in the Age of Free-Trade Agreements

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Abstract
This paper examines how cultural industries have been integrated into different free-trade /regional integration agreements. The cases of NAFTA, the EU, MERCOSUR, and GATT are compared. Each of these trade agreements has combined liberalization, co-operation, and exemption in unique ways, resulting in different policy outcomes. Industry structure, domestic communication policies, and cultural factors are explored in order to account for each country’s trade agenda and the achievements of regional initiatives in the audiovisual sector. The conclusion identifies several common issues for audiovisual policies in free-trade /regional integration agreements and proposes a framework to renew the debate over cultural trade that goes beyond the free flow of information versus cultural protectionism deadlock.