Television broadcasters and producers seldom run short of reasons to complain. But we certainly can’t gripe about a lack of public attention for our industry and its woes.

In recent months, issues affecting the TV sector have been big news. There’s the debate on foreign ownership restrictions, the flap about cuts to the Canadian Television Fund, and more recently the cable industry proposal to carry popular U.S. specialty channels on the digital tier.

There’s the Trina McQueen report on drama production, the Francois Macerola review of Canadian content and – in a weight class all its own – the voluminous Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage study on broadcasting.

Still, at least one major topic has so far received little serious scrutiny: namely, the impact that international trade agreements will have on this country’s TV industry.

It’s a verifiable fact that any mention of the WTO and GATS will cause most people’s eyes to glaze over. Frankly, my own attention has been known to wander – and I chair an industry committee on the issue.

Nevertheless, it’s important to know what’s going on in this area, since the results may help determine the future of our business. So let me try to map out the situation. (If you want to pause here to brew a pot of strong coffee, feel free.)

The 146 member states of the World Trade Organization are currently engaged in the Doha round of trade talks – a series of negotiations aimed at the further liberalization of global trade. Progress so far has been slow, in large part due to a stalemate over agriculture subsidies. At the recent WTO gathering in Montreal, there was concern about meeting the Jan. 1, 2005 deadline for completion.

Negotiations to expand the General Agreement on Trade in Services form part of this larger exercise. The whole idea behind GATS is to tear down barriers to international trade in service sectors such as banking, communications, construction, tourism and transportation.

The broadcasting and motion picture businesses – otherwise known as audiovisual services – fall within the purview of GATS. And there are countries that would love to see liberalization in this sector. The U.S., as we’re all aware, has been particularly frustrated by the regulatory measures that Canada and other nations use to protect their film and TV industries.

For the most part, broadcasting and other cultural services have not figured in key international trade deals. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement incorporates an exemption for cultural industries, sheltering them from the provisions of the bargain. (With a catch: parties are allowed to retaliate when protectionist measures harm commercial interests.) The previous Uruguay round of WTO trade reforms also excluded the AV sector.

U.S. officials tend to view culture as an industry like any other. They would prefer to see audiovisual services up for discussion in the current round of negotiations. Some developing nations, including Mexico, India and Brazil, seem to be moving in this direction as well.

But there’s resistance on other fronts. In March, European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy explicitly ruled out any GATS negotiations on AV and other cultural services, and affirmed the EU’s commitment to cultural diversity. Canada’s stance is closely aligned with that of Europe: the initial offer we filed with the WTO this spring leaves culture off the table.

Is this the right call? Should we focus on maintaining our Canadian content requirements, domestic production subsidies and other protections for the broadcast sector? Or is this shortsighted? By opting out of trade talks on AV services, would we risk sacrificing the long-term benefits of having greater access to foreign markets?

Another line of thought on this subject holds that any issues related to culture in the global marketplace should be dealt with separately from GATS, through some form of international ‘instrument’ on cultural diversity. Such a treaty would allow countries to pursue their own domestic cultural policies while respecting the rules of international trade.

The idea has Canadian roots, and it is Canada that now chairs the working group assigned by the International Network on Cultural Policy to draft the international instrument. The work is scheduled for completion this fall.

Uncertainties surround this project. For one thing, the U.S. is not a member of INCP – and without its support, the chances of success are slim. There’s also the question of who would oversee the treaty. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is the front-runner. But years of mismanagement have largely robbed UNESCO of its credibility. (Some think the World Intellectual Property Organization, which has a track record of dealing successfully with international cultural agreements, would be a better candidate.)

At times, it seems easiest just to ignore the whole subject of international trade negotiations. The process is monumentally dull, glacially slow and arcane to all but initiates.

But we avoid the issue at our peril. The broadcasting industry stands on the threshold of wholesale transformation, ushered in by the advent of digital TV, Internet file-sharing, personal video recorders and other new technologies. Viewers will enjoy vastly increased access to content, and will consume it in dramatically new ways. Borders will diminish in importance, and national regulators will exercise less and less control over the marketplace. The current trade talks will lay down a whole new set of international ground rules for this rapidly changing environment.

As broadcasters and producers, we need to watch the negotiations closely and make our views known to policy makers. We need to make sure that these new trade rules reflect the interests of our industry and the millions of Canadians who consume its products.

In the end, we know what we all want: a healthy domestic broadcasting system that brings viewers the finest programming from around the world, while at the same time promoting the creation of outstanding homegrown content. Now we need to figure out how to secure that at the bargaining table. Let’s start talking.

(This article is intended to provide general information and opinions. The views expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publication, Playback.)

Bill Roberts is president and CEO of VisionTV and chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Task Force on Trade Policy.