Canada at the Uruguay Round: Regulating the information economy.

摘要

At the Uruguay Round of the GATT the world first began to structure an international agreement on services, investment measures and intellectual property. Critical legal studies informs this detailed examination of the construction of legal meaning through international 'trade' negotiations. Of pivotal importance for the structure of the information economy, the regulatory regime which results will allocate rights and obligations in regard to international movements of capital, information and skilled workers. Canada has participated in these negotiations as a supporter of a program which intends to benefit the exporters of information technology even though it is a net importer. If enacted, the Canadian negotiating positions would provide private, foreign enterprises with preferred access to publicly-supported Canadian science, technology and information-moving infrastructures. Border-less information and capital networks are likely to establish Canada's position as a provisioner of raw information rather than an exporter of processed information.