The Limitations of a Legal Approach to the Regulation of Cultural Diversity in the WTO: The Problem of International Agricultural Trade

Abstract

Cultural diversity encompasses a wider range of ideas and notions focussing on different products, industries and methods of expression. Deciding what makes this range of activity 'cultural' is not fixed, but changes from individual to individual. It's impossible to find a single magical 'core' of what the problem is, 'culture' should be regarded as a complex, or 'polycentric' problem with multiple strands, each representing a different description of what the problem is. Traditional regulatory solutions based on a definition of what 'culture' is are therefore not appropriate, instead a more fluid approach is required which makes full use of diplomatic settlement where all can be accommodated. This article shows how disagreements between the WTO negotiators on the Doha Development Round agenda topics are inevitable in the light of deep cultural divisions because each negotiator perceives each subject, the existing rules and the necessary amendments differently. Rather than ideas which might be described as traditional cultural industries like telecommunications and audiovisual products, this article focuses on the issue of international agricultural trade, trying to illustrate the breadth and importance of 'culture' to all aspects of international trade regulation.

Keywords: culture, cultural diversity, agriculture, Agreement on Agriculture, polycentric problems