KEY FINDINGS

• All developing countries (including China and India) represented an increasing portion of the flow of cultural goods, and accounted for 45% of global trade of cultural goods in 2014, compared to 25% in 2005.
• Trade barriers, scarcity of preferential treatment measures and limited human and financial capacity continue to hamper the penetration by developing countries of cultural good markets in the global North.
• Digital distribution platforms, exchange networks and export strategies, mostly in the audiovisual sector, are helping global South countries enter the international market of cultural goods and services.
• Domestic quotas are an effective measure to increase national audiovisual production, eventually leading to an increase in exports.
• The new digital environment urgently requires improved data collection on cultural trade services, in order to support evidence-based policies and trade negotiations.

Photo: Jack Balance, Coconut Disco - African ääniä, play directed by Katariina Numminen, 2011, Finland