Cultural Exemption (Business & Marketing Coursework)

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Cultural Exemption
Cultural exemption was, for the first time, introduced by France in 1993 through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Negotiations. It stipulates that cultural goods and services are not supposed to be categorized under regular goods in bilateral or multilateral trade agreements and at the World Trade Organization. Cultural exemption allows countries to put in place and enforce such indirect barriers to trade as quotas for the benefit of their local cultural sectors (Garry, 2019). That, by extension, sets out the right for all people to participate and enjoy cultural freedoms as the State ensures the conservation and development of these cultural freedoms required for the creation of favorable trading relations.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada and the USA is on the rocks with the USA threatening to exclude the cultural exemption clause from the agreement. Canadians are quite particular and sensitive about their cultural institutions on account of being in the shadow of the United States. On the other hand, the US does not view the clause as a protectionism move but rather as an economical one for the communication industry that is the one heavily guarded by the cultural exemption clause (Garry, 2019). Being that the clause seeks to protect Canadian broadcasters and culture by extension from foreign competition and acquisition, the agreement on NAFTA may remain hopelessly deadlocked unless a dispute resolution mechanism comes to play. So long as the US does not seriously protect a culture so imperative to the Canadians, there is likely to be no further negotiation on the matter.
However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Unlike the vague NAFTA written before digital media services existed, the USMCA includes a broader cultural exemption clause that is in favor of Canadian policyma...