European Union Trade Agreements and Cultural Exception in the Digital Age

This chapter examines how the traditional cultural exception applied to the audiovisual sector in trade agreements signed by the European Union has been transposed into the digital era, in combination with provisions on e-commerce and cultural cooperation. It offers a critical analysis of bilateral and regional trade agreements signed by the European Union since the entry into force of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, in order to discuss how the specificity of cultural goods and services has been addressed in those agreements. Finally, it puts forward recommendations for appropriate consideration of such specificity in future agreements.