Introduction
Debate about the relationship between trade and culture has a very long history. Today, the World Trade Organization (WTO) continues to deal with the highly divisive issue of the application of its rules to cultural products. Different countries and interest groups hold different views regarding how cultural products such as books, radio content, and films should be distributed. On one side of the debate, the argument made is that cultural products should be treated differently from items such as cotton and rice. They argue that barriers on import of these products should be introduced for purposes of cultural security. People from the other side of the argument insist that trading activities involving cultural products should be allowed to take place without any barriers since cultural products are items like any other.
At the same time, the process of creating global awareness on the need to establish and maintain cultural security is ongoing. Different countries of the world feel that it is important for this awareness to continue being since it affects the way trade relations are conducted. Some countries support the practice of protecting the cultural heritage of individual countries by imposing barriers to hinder the import and distribution of cultural products such as newspapers, books, performances, films, TV programs, and electronic publications. Others vehemently oppose this view.
Different countries have adopted different strategies for the imposition of barriers on imports of cultural products. For example, in 2005, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) issued a business alert in which it outlined efforts for strengthening the various institutions responsible for handling administrative aspects relating to import of cultural products. In this statement, the HKTDC reiterated that the state of Hong Kong requires all businesses engaging in the import of cultural to obtain operation permits and to operate in compliance with an elaborate licensing system targeting such businesses.
One of the causes of conflict over how to handle the import and distribution of cultural products is the existence of competing goals and vested interests. The United Nations Environmental, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has already come up with the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials. States parties to this agreement are forbidden from applying any custom duties or imposing any barriers aimed at hindering the importation of cultural products. However, in earlier negotiations, WTO members came up with very disappointing outcomes; they recommended things such as an evaluation of all possible solutions, the use of the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms, the introduction of an agreement outside the context of the WTO, and the introduction of reforms that achieve a balance between cultural policy objectives and liberalization of trade. In other words, the conflict is over cultural security/diversity on the one hand and trade liberalization/free trade on the other.
The competing objects are best captured in UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions was adopted in 2005 and the WTO’s Doha Round. The aim of this paper is to provide an answer to the issue of whether countries should impose barriers to hinder the import of cultural products and distribution. In answering this question, different policy options are presented. Finally, a definite proposal is presented and defended as a platform for resolving the ensuing conflict over the import and distribution of cultural products.
Policy option 1: promotion of cultural diversity/protection in the context of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
One of the dominant policy options in this debate is one whereby efforts are made to facilitate equitable exchange of information between poor and rich nations. To promote this goal, the concept of New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) has been introduced.[1] This argument also influenced the establishment of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which is also commonly…
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