16. The Treatment of Cultural Products and the Cultural Exemption Clause

As cultural products are associated with the cultural identity of various polities, they represent the only sector regularly subject to special treatment in preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Canada has even secured an outright exemption in favor of cultural industries under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its successor the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. The United States and Mexico, on the other hand, have secured a limited number of specific exceptions relating to cultural products in these same PTAs. From NAFTA 1.0 to 2.0, if the treatment of cultural products has evolved, notably with provisions dealing with digital trade and the extension of copyrights, not much has changed overall as regards the reservations taken by states parties. The essential of Canada’s cultural exemption has been reconvened, including for the digital field, the US exceptions have not varied significantly in scope and remain very limited, while the scope of Mexico’s has actually narrowed.