The EU-Canada CETA and the diversity of cultural industries: hegemony or resistance

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), between Canada and the European Union (EU), was leaked to the public opinion in August 2014 after five years of negotiations. The consolidated CETA text was not released until the end of last September, raising deeper issues about the secrecy and democratic deficit surrounding the agreement. As some have already noted (notably civil society organizations), this treaty is about much more than trade. Even though the preamble states that it aims to streghthen though the preamble states that it though the preamble states though that the preamble states that it aims to strengthen economic relationships, the text includes an explicit reference to the commitments of both Parties to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions andunderlies their right to preserve, develop and implement their cultural policies, and to support their cultural industries for the purpose of strengthening the diversity of cultural expressions and preserving their cultural identity (including the use of regulatory measures and financial support). Beyond these intentions enunciated in the preamble, there are only five chapters containing articles exempting culture (Subsidies, Investment, Cross--‐ Border Trade in Services, Domestic Regulation and Government Procurement). Therefore, the text lacks a general exception clause protecting culture. The question about the capacity of this free trade agreement to actually protect and promote the diversity of culture is therefore valid because, for example, whereas for the EU the exception applies only to audiovisual services, for Canada it covers all Cultural industries (as usually defined in its trade agreements). Is this a missed opportunity for both Canada and the EU to safeguard culture from trade, to reconcile rules of free trade and cultural policies? Can the inclusion of the UNESCO Convention in the CETA text help counterbalance and resist those of free trade that undermine necessary and legitimate cultural policies and regulations aiming to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions? This contribution will aim to explore answers to these questions taking the consolidated CETA text as a point of departure. After providing contextual information about the agreement itself and its evolution, key points concerning cultural exemptions will be examined with a political economy perspective to clarify up to what extent there will be room for manoeuvre to political actually protect and promote the diversity of cultural industries.This work is based on research undertaken for the project ‘Diversity of the Audiovisual Industry in the Digital Age’ [CSO2014-­‐52354R], supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the National Programme Aimed at the Challenges of Society