Research On Cultural Exception Rules In International Trade Agreements

Cultural identity is a part of national identity,and its main manifestation in international trade is cultural products and services.Whether the increasingly open and frequent international trade will affect and dissipate the characteristics of a nation has been discussed by many scholars,and there is no clear conclusion in the debate.In the process of formulating international trade rules,it has been widely discussed whether special treatment should be applied to cultural products,and has influenced the formulation of World Trade Organization(WTO)rules.In fact,the special treatment of some audio-visual products is realized in WTO rules.The concept of "cultural exception" is also a long-term ideology and negotiation principle pursued by Canada and the European Union.Since the 21 st century,France,Canada and other countries have promoted UNESCO to formulate the Convention for the protection of cultural diversity,which has become a consensus,and the concept of "cultural exception" has been supported by international law.In bilateral and regional trade agreements,more and more countries begin to attach importance to their cultural rights and interests.Nowadays,the stagnation of multilateral trade mechanism and digitalization have changed the production and communication channels of cultural products and services.In this context,based on our national conditions,China should actively participate in the establishment of relevant international trade rules,learn from the successful experience of other countries in implementing the concept of cultural exception,while conducting cultural products and services trade with other countries,carrying out cultural exchanges and mutual learning,and at the same time,leaving a certain space for the cultural development of our country.This paper is divided into four parts:The first part is about the necessity of studying the rule of cultural exception.This paper discusses the value concept and current situation behind the rule of cultural exception.Because of its dual attributes and the uncertainty and universality of its connotation,it is necessary for cultural products to make trade rules different from general commodities.Secondly,the rule of cultural exception came into being in the debate of free trade and cultural protection.At first,it was just an idea of France,Canada and other countries to protect their cultural industries.With the promulgation of the UNESCO Convention on the protection of cultural diversity and the support of more and more countries,the concept of cultural exception gradually evolved into the idea of protecting cultural diversity Under the support of the Convention,the formulation of cultural exception rules in international trade agreements has the basis of international law.Thirdly,under the current international trade mechanism,the rule of cultural exception is inadequate.Although the discourse position of the concept of "cultural exception" in the international arena is rising day by day,the coverage of the rule itself is limited and the effectiveness of the rule is insufficient.The second part studies the rule of cultural exception in WTO.As the largest multilateral cooperation platform of international trade in the world,the rule of cultural exception in WTO has research value.This part first discusses the relationship between the special treatment of cultural products and the existing most favored nation treatment and national treatment,which leads to two cases: the case of the United States v.Canada's specific measures for journals and the case of Sino US publications,which ended in the failure of the Canadian side and the Chinese side.It can be seen that the possibility of trying to realize the concept of cultural exception through WTO is very small.However,WTO does not ignore cultural issues.There are some exceptions for audiovisual products.This paper will sort out these provisions and analyze the feasibility of these provisions.At the end of this part,we will evaluate the rule of cultural exception in WTO as a whole.The third part studies the cultural exception rules in bilateral and regional trade agreements.Due to the limited response of WTO to the issue of cultural exception and the stagnation of Doha Round negotiations,more and more countries have signed bilateral and regional trade agreements,and formulated rules of cultural exception in the agreements,which has certain room for their own cultural development.First of all,the paper studies the existing forms of cultural exception rules based on the reports issued by UNESCO.Secondly,taking the contracting texts of the European Union and Canada as the research object,this paper analyzes its characteristics and development trend.Thirdly,it summarizes the cultural exception rules in free trade agreements.The fourth part studies the cultural exception rules and the contracting practice in China.Based on China's national conditions,first of all,this paper analyzes China's foreign policy of cultural trade,indicating China's willingness to open up cultural industry,exchange and learn from each other.Secondly,it analyzes the cultural exception rules that have been made at the bilateral and multilateral levels.Thirdly,some suggestions on China's participation in the formulation of international trade rules are put forward.