Through preferential free trade agreements (FTAs), the United States seeks to secure concessions in sectors, such as cultural and audiovisual services, from which to set precedents for its next trade liberalization endeavours. Insisting on wide-ranging liberalization and predictable, clearly defined trade rules, the United States has used a top-down or negative list approach. Hence, sectors and measures, in the fields of services and investment, not specifically excluded are covered by liberalization commitments. On the other hand, states are encouraged to use a wide array of financial and regulatory instruments in the pursuit of cultural policies under the 2005 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Cultural Diversity Convention, which the United States has strongly opposed for its potential trade-restricting effects. In view of the deadlock in current multilateral trade negotiations, the hortatory character of the provisions of the Convention, and the US stance on the treatment of cultural goods and services in international economic exchanges, US FTAs are to prove the main source of legal constraints as to states' ability to pursue cultural policies.
Journal of World Trade