The Audiovisual Sector in the GATS Negotiations

New technologies and the worldwide access to a multitude of entertainment and information services have stimulated the growth and development of audiovisual services and products from around the globe. These developments pose many new issues for trade in audiovisual services. In The Audiovisual Sector in the GATS Negotiations, authors recommend options for a changing course toward meaningful trade liberalization of the audiovisual sector in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Stephen E. Siwek analyses in detail the specific market access and national treatment commitments made by the United States, Japan, and the European Union (EU) in the audiovisual services under GATS. He emphasizes the contradiction between the EU’s indefinite Most Favored Nation (MFN) exemption and the GATS. Patrick A. Messerlin and Emmanuel Cocq optimistically outline the ongoing profound economic and technological changes in importing countries, including the large EU film market.