In fact, the United States committed to opening its audiovisual market to foreign programming. Moreover, she stressed, the U.S. market is already open, and so its GATS commitment served to confirm the existing situation. According to the MPAA, some 416 non-domestic films were shown in U.S. theaters between 1989 and 1993 and 70 percent were European. Setting Post-Uruguay Round Rules Audiovisual markets in Europe and other regions are growing as privatization ends government control and as new technologies are developed and implemented. Such growth demands investment, which is attracted by a competitive marketplace, Richardson said.
Rapid growth can also spur calls for additional restrictions.
Regulators have to be clear about their objectives, the industry official cautioned. Quantitative trade restrictions can be self-defeating because industries built behind protectionist walls often become less competitive, she said. Quantitative restrictions include local-content regulations restricting how much and at what times foreign programming can be shown by television broadcasters, and screen quotas regulating how many of a theater's days can be devoted to showing foreign films. The EU and Canada have been the main proponents of using import restrictions to protect their culture. Imported programming is subject to local-content quotas for carriage on Canadian television.