<p>This dissertation consists of three major chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to testing a novel gravity model of international trade, while the last two chapters explore cross-country commitment and implementation behavior within the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement. </p> <p><strong>Chapter 1:</strong> I test a novel theoretical gravity model of international trade on firm-level export data from Colombia in 2018. The model assumes a power law relationship between trade flows and distance, with the distance elasticity resulting from two dynamic processes: firm-export growth captured in a Pareto distribution; and the growth of the distance over which those exports are sold. Although the model has been shown to work well in French data, its usefulness for interpreting data from other countries remains unexplored. I find evidence that the model fails in Colombia because some large firms contradict its assumptions by exhibiting shorter export distances compared to smaller firms in the sample. I hypothesize that these large firms are branches of foreign multinational corporations (MNCs). MNCs’ headquarters constraint the export growth of its affiliates as well as the markets they reach. While I cannot prove firms’ MNC affiliation, I use export sophistication as an imperfect metric to reflect MNC presence. When MNC affiliates are excluded from the sample, firm export distance rises faster with firm size, leading to improved predictions of the distance elasticity of trade in Colombia by the model. These findings have implications not only for the tested model but also for other theories that explain gravity in international trade through firm-level behavior.</p> <p><strong>Chapter 2:</strong> We use a new database of commitments made during the process of ratifying the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) to study variation in countries’ commitment behavior. The TFA is a novel World Trade Organization agreement because it allows developing countries to select commitments from a menu of best practices in trade facilitation, rather than to consent, or not, to a comprehensive package of negotiated commitments. The operation of this <em>à la carte</em> approach to concluding trade agreements is worthy of study in its own right, but the commitment data also offer a high-level description of progress in an international effort to improve border management procedures around the globe. Our study uses data on TFA commitments to describe progress across subcomponents of the agreement. A regression model shows that the number of Type A trade facilitation commitments that a country made in the TFA ratification process depends on its level of development, population size, ability to control corruption, and foreign aid received to support trade facilitation. We use multidimensional scaling techniques to study differences in the content of national commitment bundles. This approach demonstrates that variation in the content of countries’ commitments is closely tied to the number of commitments made.</p> <p><strong>Chapter 3:</strong> This chapter examines the implementation progress of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) from 2019 to 2023. The TFA, which is the latest World Trade Organization agreement, came into force in 2017. In its novelty, it allows developing countries to set their own implementation schedule and adjust it if needed. This flexibility aligns implementation requirements with the capabilities of signatory countries, but introduces uncertainties in achieving complete global implementation and fully realizing the potential benefits of the agreement. Using data on the notified implementation dates for each measure of the TFA, this study describes the progress made in implementing different subcomponents of the agreement over a period of five years. A regression analysis suggests that the annual rate of progress towards achieving full TFA implementation does not vary based on country characteristics such as GDP per capita, population size, or landlocked status. Assuming that the tendency at which countries implement measures remains unchanged, I project that 95% of developing countries will achieve 95% TFA implementation between the years 2036 and 2047.</p>

Notre thèse a pour but de réfléchir à cette question majeure, de tenter de résoudre cette impasse : le droit du commerce international contemporain a été élaboré à partir de principes libéraux pour réaliser la libre circulation des marchandises et des services (OMC, GATT, GATS…), sans toutefois tenir compte des différentes barrières culturelles internes des pays (par exemple en Chine), ni de considérations « autres que d’ordre commercial ». Comment dépasser les barrières internes ? Comment intégrer les valeurs non commerciales ? La Chine est à la fois une partie du problème et une partie de la solution à cette question. Une partie du problème en ce que les frictions entre les principes de libre circulation et les habitudes propres à une aire culturelle donnée sont particulièrement vivaces dans le cas de la Chine et font sans cesse surface dans le cadre des exigences de régulation. Une partie de la solution aussi en ce que son engagement pour les technologies vertes et les énergies renouvelables donne plus poids à la nécessité d’élargir les lois étroites du commerce pour prendre en compte les considérations autres que commerciales / This doctoral thesis will aim at addressing the following problematic issue: contemporary international trade law has been established on liberal (free trade) principles in order to allow the free movement of goods and services (WTO, GATT, GATS, etc.), without taking into account other countries internal cultural barriers (for example in China), or non-trade concerns (NTCs). How to overcome internal barriers? How to integrate non-trade concerns? China is part of the problem as well as part of the solution. On one hand frictions between global free-trade principles and local cultural habits are overwelhming present in China and continuously interfere with the requirements of trade regulation. On the other China’s involvement in green technology or renewable energies give more weigth to the necessity of extending the international trade framework to include non-trade concerns in its definition

Le droit international de la bioéthique, construction récente affiliée au système des droits de l'homme, s'élabore au carrefour de plusieurs ordres normatifs et sollicite, du point de vue de sa mise en œuvre, l'intervention d'une multitude de systèmes de régulation et de systèmes juridiques. Dans le contexte d'une crise de la régulation et compte tenu de la complexification et de la fragmentation du droit international, cette thèse propose de reconstruire une ontologie unitaire de l'ordre juridique international à partir d'une critique de l'épistémologie positiviste et de la conception de la mécanique normative qu'elle suppose. La bioéthique qui se conçoit comme une discipline de questionnement critique des principes qui fondent l'action humaine, opère tel un révélateur des contradictions normatives qui agissent au cœur de la structure des systèmes et des ordres juridiques. Ainsi, à partir de l'étude des conflits de valeurs, des conflits de normes, des conflits de droits, des conflits de systèmes juridiques et compte tenu de l'analyse des méthodes de neutralisation et de résolution mise en œuvre, au sein des différents systèmes juridiques, pour les traiter, cette thèse démontre la nécessité de concevoir le droit international comme un système dynamique, composé de normes et d'institutions entretenant entre eux des rapports de légitimité et d'effectivité, dont l'évolution générale est caractérisée par la non-linéarité. Dans cette perspective, cette thèse invite à concevoir la constitutionnalisation du droit international comme un processus dialectique impliquant une multitude de systèmes juridiques et institutionnels. / Bioethics in the field of human rights is a recent corpus of the international law. Biolaw instruments' had been elaborated at the crossroads of several normative orders.Their implementation requires the mobilization of a multitude of regulation systems. In the context of a crisis of legal regulation and considering the complexity and fragmentation of international law, this thesis suggests reconstructing a unified ontology of international law based on a critical appreciation of positivist epistemology. Bioethics, conceived as a critical discipline used to question principles which orient and justify human actions, reveals normative contradictions embedded in the structure of legal systems. Based on the study of conflicts between ethical values or between fundamental rights, norms conflict, conflict between legal systems and after having analyzed the methods used by international institutions to neutralize or resolve such contradictions, this thesis demonstrate the necessity to conceive international legal order as a dynamic system composed with heterogeneous norms and institutions linked by legitimacy and effectivity relationships. The evolution of international law can be characterized by non linearity and constitutionalization of international legal order appears as a dialectical process which requires the intervention of multiple international institutions and legal sub-systems.

Após 15 anos de sua adoção pelos Membros da Organização Mundial do Comércio, o Acordo sobre os Aspectos da Propriedade Intelectual Relacionados ao Comércio (TRIPS) ainda permanece como um dos pilares das modernas instituições do sistema internacional da propriedade intelectual e merece contínua análise de seus efeitos sobre países em desenvolvimento. Nesse sentido, tendências expansionistas e níveis mais elevados de proteção dos direitos de propriedade intelectual, nas distintas esferas do multilareralismo, bilateralismo e regionalismo, são, no entanto, confrontadas com as necessidades reais dos países em desenvolvimento, que ainda devem explorar as flexibilidades existentes no Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual. Isso parece ser evidente após a fase de transição do Acordo TRIPS. A implementação de obrigações relacionadas à proteção substantiva e procedimentos de aplicação efetiva da proteção (observância) dá lugar para controvérsias resultantes das demandas pelo acesso aos bens do conhecimento - bens da tecnologia e informação na ordem internacional. O presente trabalho oferece contribuição para o estudo do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual na Era Pós-OMC e propõe uma análise e reavaliação de seus elementos, princípios e objetivos. Enfatiza a tarefa imperativa de redefinição do equilíbrio intrínseco da propriedade intelectual e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, concebidos como valores de ordem pública internacional. Nesse contexto, o trabalho propõe analisar os objetivos futuros de um regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, em parte consolidados pelos proponentes da Declaração de Doha sobre TRIPS e Saúde Pública e a Agenda da OMPI para o Desenvolvimento. Em sua estrutura, o trabalho divide-se em três partes. A primeira parte (Status Quo: O Presente e o Passado dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) analisa as políticas e objetivos justificam o regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, seus fundamentos no Pós-OMC/TRIPS e convergência das competências relacionadas à propriedade intelectual na ordem internacional. A segunda parte (O Passado Revisitado rumo ao Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual) aborda as implicações das tendências expansionistas e fortalecimento dos padrões de proteção da propriedade intelectual, concentrando-se em dois casos principais: a harmonização substantiva e os sistemas globais de proteção e observância dos direitos de propriedade intelectual. A terceira parte (Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) propõe a redefinição dos princípios e objetivos centrais do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual no Pós-OMC (equilíbrio, transparência, cooperação internacional e transferência de tecnologia) e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, flexibilidades e opções para acesso aos bens da tecnologia e informação. / After 15 years from its adoption by the Member States of World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) still remains as one of the main pillars of the modern institutions of international intellectual property system and deserves a continuous assessment analysis of its overall impacts on developing countries, their innovation systems and developmental concerns. In this sense, expansionist trends and higher levels of protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in multilateral, regional and bilateral levels - are nevertheless confronted with the actual needs of developing countries in exploring existing and pending flexibilities within the international intellectual property legal regime. This appears to be true particularly after the post-transitional phase of TRIPS Agreement, where implementation of the multilateral obligations related to substantive protection and enforcement procedures gave rise to considerable contentious issues emerging from demands for access to global public goods, knowledge goods. This Doctoral Thesis offers a contribution to the current debate on International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO Era and proposes an analysis and reappraisal of its elements, principles and objectives. The work aims at focusing the imperative task of redefining the intrinsic balance of intellectual property and maintenance and expansion of the public domain as values of an international ordre public. In this context, we analyze the systemic objectives of a prospective international intellectual property regime, which were in part consolidated by the proponents of Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health of 2001 and WIPO Development Agenda. In the first part (Status Quo: Past and Present of Intellectual Property in International Order) we analyze the main development of the current international intellectual property regime, its foundations in Post WTO/TRIPS, and convergent intellectual property related competences in international legal order. The second part (Present revisited towards the future of intellectual property rights) approaches the implications of expansionist trends and strengthening of standards of IP protection. In this case, our work focuses on two particular cases: the substantive harmonization and global protection systems and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The third part (Future of Intellectual Property Rights in International Legal System) further analyses core objectives and principles of International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO (balance, transparency, international cooperation and transfer of technology) and proposals for the maintenance and expansion of public domain, flexibilities and options for the access to the knowledge goods.

O consumidor é o agente vulnerável na relação de consumo internacional. O processo de globalização se apresenta, para o consumidor, como uma globalização do consumo. A globalização do consumo se caracteriza pelo comércio e fornecimento internacional de produtos e serviços por empresários/fornecedores transnacionais/globais, utilizando marcas de renome mundial, acessíveis a todos os consumidores do planeta, e agrava a vulnerabilidade do consumidor no mercado. A proteção jurídica do consumidor internacional é uma necessidade que os sistemas jurídicos nacionais não se mostram aptos a prover adequadamente, assim como o Direito Internacional também não. A presente tese demonstra a deficiência da Ciência do Direito na proteção do consumidor no contexto da globalização; demonstra como o próprio comércio internacional é prejudicado ao não priorizar de maneira absoluta e efetiva a proteção do consumidor na OMC, bem como ao mostrar-se apático diante dos diferentes níveis de proteção proporcionada aos consumidores em cada diferente sistema jurídico nacional; demonstra, também, como a proteção do consumidor de maneira uniforme e global por um direito comum aos Estados é possível e será capaz de tornar mais eficiente economicamente o processo de globalização do consumo, ao encorajar a participação mais intensa do consumidor no mercado internacional; e propõe a construção de um novo ramo do Direito dedicado ao problema, o Direito Internacional do Consumidor (DIC), por meio da elaboração de uma Teoria do Direito Internacional do Consumidor. O Direito Internacional do Consumidor pretende ser um direito comum e universal de proteção ao consumidor, fundado em métodos, conceitos, institutos, normas e princípios jurídicos universais. O DIC dialogará com outros ramos do Direito Público e Privado, especialmente o Direito Internacional Econômico, o Direito Internacional do Comércio, o Direito Internacional Privado, o Direito Processual Civil Internacional, e o Direito do Consumidor. Pretende-se com isto atender ao ideal de promover o livre comércio internacional com respeito aos Direitos Humanos. / The consumer is the weak party in the cross-border consumer relation. The globalization process presents itself for the consumer as a globalization of consumers relations. The globalization of consumers relations is defined by international commerce and supply of products and services by transnational/global entrepreneurs/ suppliers, using global renowned brands names, available for all consumers of the planet, aggravating the consumers vulnerability in the market. The juridical international consumers protection is a necessity that has not been properly dealt with neither by the national legal systems nor by International Law. The present thesis shows the deficiency of Juridical Science to consumers protection in a globalization context; it shows how international commerce suffers harms when it does not prioritize the consumers protection in WTO, and when it has no reaction against different consumers protections levels by the distinct national legislation; it also shows, how consumers protection by a global and uniform law for all States is possible and can be more economically efficient for the process of globalization of consumers relations, because it encourages a intensive consumer participation in the international market; and proposes to build a new branch of law dedicated to the problem, the International Consumer Law (ICL), by a Theory of International Consumer Law. The International Consumer Law intends to be a general and universal law about consumers protection, based on universal methods, concepts, institutes, rules and principles. The ICL is going to dialogue with others branches of law, specially with International Economic Law, Global Trade Law, Private International Law (Conflict of Laws), Transnational Litigation Law, Consumer Protection Law and Products Liability Law. The intention of this thesis is to deal with the ideal of promoting free international trade taking into account respect for humans rights.

Após 15 anos de sua adoção pelos Membros da Organização Mundial do Comércio, o Acordo sobre os Aspectos da Propriedade Intelectual Relacionados ao Comércio (TRIPS) ainda permanece como um dos pilares das modernas instituições do sistema internacional da propriedade intelectual e merece contínua análise de seus efeitos sobre países em desenvolvimento. Nesse sentido, tendências expansionistas e níveis mais elevados de proteção dos direitos de propriedade intelectual, nas distintas esferas do multilareralismo, bilateralismo e regionalismo, são, no entanto, confrontadas com as necessidades reais dos países em desenvolvimento, que ainda devem explorar as flexibilidades existentes no Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual. Isso parece ser evidente após a fase de transição do Acordo TRIPS. A implementação de obrigações relacionadas à proteção substantiva e procedimentos de aplicação efetiva da proteção (observância) dá lugar para controvérsias resultantes das demandas pelo acesso aos bens do conhecimento - bens da tecnologia e informação na ordem internacional. O presente trabalho oferece contribuição para o estudo do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual na Era Pós-OMC e propõe uma análise e reavaliação de seus elementos, princípios e objetivos. Enfatiza a tarefa imperativa de redefinição do equilíbrio intrínseco da propriedade intelectual e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, concebidos como valores de ordem pública internacional. Nesse contexto, o trabalho propõe analisar os objetivos futuros de um regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, em parte consolidados pelos proponentes da Declaração de Doha sobre TRIPS e Saúde Pública e a Agenda da OMPI para o Desenvolvimento. Em sua estrutura, o trabalho divide-se em três partes. A primeira parte (Status Quo: O Presente e o Passado dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) analisa as políticas e objetivos justificam o regime internacional da propriedade intelectual, seus fundamentos no Pós-OMC/TRIPS e convergência das competências relacionadas à propriedade intelectual na ordem internacional. A segunda parte (O Passado Revisitado rumo ao Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual) aborda as implicações das tendências expansionistas e fortalecimento dos padrões de proteção da propriedade intelectual, concentrando-se em dois casos principais: a harmonização substantiva e os sistemas globais de proteção e observância dos direitos de propriedade intelectual. A terceira parte (Futuro dos Direitos de Propriedade Intelectual na Ordem Internacional) propõe a redefinição dos princípios e objetivos centrais do Direito Internacional da Propriedade Intelectual no Pós-OMC (equilíbrio, transparência, cooperação internacional e transferência de tecnologia) e a manutenção e expansão do domínio público, flexibilidades e opções para acesso aos bens da tecnologia e informação. / After 15 years from its adoption by the Member States of World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) still remains as one of the main pillars of the modern institutions of international intellectual property system and deserves a continuous assessment analysis of its overall impacts on developing countries, their innovation systems and developmental concerns. In this sense, expansionist trends and higher levels of protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in multilateral, regional and bilateral levels - are nevertheless confronted with the actual needs of developing countries in exploring existing and pending flexibilities within the international intellectual property legal regime. This appears to be true particularly after the post-transitional phase of TRIPS Agreement, where implementation of the multilateral obligations related to substantive protection and enforcement procedures gave rise to considerable contentious issues emerging from demands for access to global public goods, knowledge goods. This Doctoral Thesis offers a contribution to the current debate on International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO Era and proposes an analysis and reappraisal of its elements, principles and objectives. The work aims at focusing the imperative task of redefining the intrinsic balance of intellectual property and maintenance and expansion of the public domain as values of an international ordre public. In this context, we analyze the systemic objectives of a prospective international intellectual property regime, which were in part consolidated by the proponents of Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health of 2001 and WIPO Development Agenda. In the first part (Status Quo: Past and Present of Intellectual Property in International Order) we analyze the main development of the current international intellectual property regime, its foundations in Post WTO/TRIPS, and convergent intellectual property related competences in international legal order. The second part (Present revisited towards the future of intellectual property rights) approaches the implications of expansionist trends and strengthening of standards of IP protection. In this case, our work focuses on two particular cases: the substantive harmonization and global protection systems and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The third part (Future of Intellectual Property Rights in International Legal System) further analyses core objectives and principles of International Intellectual Property Law in Post-WTO (balance, transparency, international cooperation and transfer of technology) and proposals for the maintenance and expansion of public domain, flexibilities and options for the access to the knowledge goods.

文化是一種民族精神、社會價值、生命哲學與生活方式的體現，而創意是人類文化定位的重要成份，而以各式各樣的形式表現，兩者皆能透過產業流程與全球分銷去複製、推廣。文創產業是「那些以無形、文化為本質的內容，經過創造、生產與商品化結合的產業」，因此文創產業不僅涉及文化與創意，也包含由創意衍生之「文化商品及服務」（cultural goods and services）的經濟價值與商業運作。 我國為使發展文創產業之政策制度在施行上於法有據，經濟部乃多次召集會議邀請各部會及學者專家討論研擬《文化創意產業發展法》（以下簡稱《文創法》），並於92年9月24日函報行政院審核修訂，經過多年的推動與研議，該法終於2010年1月7日三讀通過，完成立法程序，並於2月3日以華總一義字第09900022451號總統令制定公布，相關子法亦陸續公布施行。 然而《文創法》內立意甚佳的產業措施，因台灣加入世界貿易組織(World Trade Organization, WTO)而不得不受到WTO相關協定的規範。作為掃除關稅與非關稅貿易障礙、確保自由貿易之WTO，經由多回合的貿易談判逐步開放市場，並藉由對關稅與補貼之約束以及服務業市場准入、國民待遇之承諾等建立市場開放之可預測性。文化商品與服務在其規範下並無例外，同樣必須接受WTO上述原則，即最惠國待遇、國民待遇與市場准入等義務的檢驗。鑑於《文化創意產業發展法》所具備產業扶植之本質，及其涵蓋之16種文化創意產業多屬服務部門，本文遂將檢驗重點聚焦在該法之獎補助及租稅優惠措施與GATS的互動關係上，尤其是《文創法》在服務業補貼暫行定義、第17條國民待遇、國內規章第6.1條與第23.3條非違反協定控訴之適法性分析，以作為日後執法或修正之參考。 但值得注意的是，相對於WTO以降低貿易壁壘，促進貿易自由化為職志，文化商品與服務之雙重特質在WTO無法獲得特殊之待遇或保障，2005年10月UNESCO通過之《保障及促進文化表現多樣性公約》(以下簡稱《文化多樣性公約》)卻主張國家有促進與保護文化表現多樣性之權利，並具有採行其認為適當之政策與措施達成該目的之主權。若《文創法》有其適用《文化多樣性公約》之可能，則我國在採行諸多文創產業推展措施卻有違WTO內括協定所涉及之貿易原則或義務時，是否得根據《文化多樣性公約》正當化該等爭議措施? 當《文化多樣性公約》與WTO內括協定產生規範衝突時，兩者之適用與解釋是否有互補或調和之可能? 在文化產業與貿易活動上，《文化多樣性公約》若能正當化違反WTO規範之政策措施，則我國《文創法》所擬定之政策措施在GATS框架下之解釋與義務即有所不同。因此在檢驗《文創法》與GATS之互動關係前，本文將先簡單介紹《文化多樣性公約》之優劣特性，及公約與WTO規範競合之解決與適用結果。 關鍵字：文化創意產業發展法、世界貿易組織、文化多樣性公約、國民待遇、非違反協定控訴 / Culture is the embodiment of a national spirit, social values, people’s worldview and life style, while creativity in all its manifestations presents an essential constitution of human culture. By way of industrialization and global distribution, the two are allowed to copy repeatedly and promote worldwide. Cultural and creative industries are “those industries that combine the creation, production and commercialization of contents that are intangible and cultural in nature”, which involve not only abstract culture and creativities but also material economic value and commercial operations of cultural goods and services derived from human ingenuity and originality. To make sure the policy and measures implemented in Taiwan to promote and flourish cultural and creative industries are legally based, the Ministry of Economic Affairs had invited the relevant ministries, scholars and experts in the field to deliberate and prepare the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") since mid-‘90s, and finally submitted the draft Act to the Executive Yuan for review and approval on September 24, 2003. After years of promotion and negotiations, the Act was passed its third reading in the Legislative Yuan on January 7, 2010 and promulgated on February 3 by Presidential Decree Hwa Zong Yi Zi No. 09900022451. The related rules and regulations were also proclaimed in effect one after another ever since. However, as a WTO (World Trade Organization) member, it is our duty to keep the deliberately constructed measures set in the Act in line with the WTO-related disciplines. WTO, acting as an international forum calling for free trade, vows to eliminate tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, facilitate further market opening by multiple rounds of trade negotiations, and increase the predictability of market dynamics through the establishment of binding tariff rates, subsidy disciplines, specific commitments and various requirements such as most-favored-nation treatment, market access and national treatment. The same principles and obligations mentioned above apply to goods and services with culture in nature equally with no exception. In this regard, the paper will examine how the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act, especially its subsidy and tax preference measures legally interact with the articles related including Article 15 Subsidy, Article 17 National Treatment, Article 6.1 Domestic Regulation and Article 23.3 Non-violation complaints (in view of the measures adopted in the Act are industry-supportive oriented and most industries categorized in the same act are belonging to service sector) in General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for reference of law enforcement and further amendments in the future. But it is worth noting that, while WTO (the organization and covered agreements) are dedicated to exterminate trade barriers, promote trade liberalization and ignore cultural goods and services have both an economic and a cultural nature, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Cultural Expressions (hereinafter referred to “the UNESCO Convention”) adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC) on October 20, 2005 recognizes member countries have their sovereign right to formulate and implement their cultural policies and to adopt measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions when necessary. If the rules and principles of the UNESCO Convention apply to the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act, then is it possible for the Convention to justify the measures we adopt to nourish the cultural industries, but somehow in violation of WTO principles and obligations? And if the answer is “Yes”, all the interpretation and obligations derived from the Act will not be the same as those covered by GATS only. Therefore, the potential conflicts and the harmonization between the UNESCO Convention and WTO covered agreements (GATS in particular) will be explored before the legal relationship between the Act and GATS is examined. Keywords: Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act, World Trade Organization, UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Cultural Expressions, National Treatment, Domestic Regulation, Non-violation complaints

La riduzione delle barriere tariffarie ha spostato il dibattito tra gli esperti di commercio internazionale sulle misure protezionistiche alternative (regole d'origine, proprietà intellettuale etc.). inoltre durante gli ultimi dieci anni la proliferazione degli accordi commerciali regionali ha acuito i timori di coloro che ritengono che la strada verso la liberalizzazione dei flussi commerciali internazionali debba passare attraverso l'OMC. questa tesi analizza il nesso tra i rimedi di difesa commerciale, le barriere tecniche al commercio e gli accordi commerciali regionali mediante un esercizio di mappatura di 53 accordi. tale mappatura è sviluppata mediante l'impiego di tabelle che riassumono il contenuto di ogni accordo per quanto concerne le barriere tecniche al commercio e i rimedi di difesa commerciale. Inoltre il presente lavoro effettua una ricognizione della letteratura empirica e teorica sull'argomento fornendo infine un contributo originale mediante l'utilizzo di un modello probit per l'analisi dei dati raccolti. i risultati ottenuti in parte confermano ed in parte smentiscono, a volte anche in maniera contro-intuitiva, alcuni fatti stilizzati dalla letteratura. / The reduction of tariff duties at multilateral and regional level has shifted the focus of international trade debate to other beyond-the-border protectionist measures (i.e. rules of origin, intellectual property, trade remedies etc.). Further during the last ten years the proliferation of regionalism has increased more and more the concern in the supporters of multilateral trading system. This thesis explores the linkages among trade remedies, technical barriers to trade and regional trade agreements. This analysis is performed through the creation of 4 benchmarking exercises (templates) mapping the provisions relevant to antidumping measures, countervailing duties, safeguards measures and technical barriers to trade included in 53 regional trade agreements. The aim of this thesis is to overview both theoretically and empirically the existing relevant literature in order to supply an original contribution to the understanding of the subject. The collection and the processing of the data offer some insight and, sometimes, counterintuitive findings about the modelling of trade remedies and technical barriers provisions in the regional trade agreements.

Widespread cross-border securities trading have led to the internationalization of securities markets. No one seriously disputes that such securities dealings require regulation, but there is no academic consensus on the best normative approach to such regulation. The academic debate initially focused on whether regulatory competition or cooperation constitutes the better model. However, the debate seems to have evolved to adopt a hybrid model combining the virtues of these two approaches. ‘Harmonization’ constitutes the dominant hybrid model. Nevertheless, the implementation of the harmonization model has barely received any attention in the literature. The aim of this thesis is hence two-fold: first, justify why harmonization should be the preferred model for the regulation of international securities markets; and second, develop, applying an international trade regulation perspective, a regulatory framework to implement the harmonization model using the World Trade Organization and General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO/GATS) framework.

Widespread cross-border securities trading have led to the internationalization of securities markets. No one seriously disputes that such securities dealings require regulation, but there is no academic consensus on the best normative approach to such regulation. The academic debate initially focused on whether regulatory competition or cooperation constitutes the better model. However, the debate seems to have evolved to adopt a hybrid model combining the virtues of these two approaches. ‘Harmonization’ constitutes the dominant hybrid model. Nevertheless, the implementation of the harmonization model has barely received any attention in the literature. The aim of this thesis is hence two-fold: first, justify why harmonization should be the preferred model for the regulation of international securities markets; and second, develop, applying an international trade regulation perspective, a regulatory framework to implement the harmonization model using the World Trade Organization and General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO/GATS) framework.