Defending Lilliput: Domestic cultural industry development schemes and the world trade regime (Australia, Canada, South Africa).

摘要

This thesis investigates the increasingly tenuous position of domestic cultural industry development schemes, particularly for film, television and music, within the world trade regime. The common justifications for the deployment of such schemes are outlined, and the various methodologies adopted by countries to support their cultural industries, e.g. broadcast quotas, tax breaks, direct subsidies, and foreign ownership restrictions, are examined by way of value chain analysis. The WTO regime is then introduced, and the application of the GATS to audiovisual products is examined. The history and outcomes of such schemes in Australia, Canada and South Africa are specifically discussed, with particular attention being paid to Project Blue Sky Inc. v Australian Broadcasting Authority. The "public morals" exception is considered as a possible escape route for the retention of broadcast quotas, and the thesis concludes with an examination of the current Canadian initiative to build an international coalition for the creation of specific rules on international trade in cultural products.