International trade is the system by which countries exchange goods and services. Countries trade with each other to obtain things that are better quality, less expensive or simply different from goods and services produced at home. The goods and services that a country buys from other countries are called imports, and goods and services that are sold to other countries are called exports.
While trade takes place mostly between companies, governments and individuals frequently buy and sell goods internationally, too. Most international trade consists of the purchase and sale of industrial equipment, consumer goods, oil and agricultural products. In addition, services such as banking, insurance, transportation, telecommunications, engineering and tourism accounted for one-fifth of world exports in 1990 (Zaelke, Durwood, Orbuch, Housman, 1993).
Modern communications have consequences for all nations of the world because they penetrate all spheres of the lives of individuals as well as of societies. The use or abuse of communications can have a direct effect on the sovereignty of a nation, its political and economic stability, and its cultural identity. The omnipresence of American culture has become a threat to the cultural identity of people in every quadrant of the world. This is why governments have begun to fight against what they consider an assault to their cultural sovereignty. The balance of information or communication flow is of utmost concern to nation France because American values are instilled in their societies through mediums like music, film and literature. Canada and France have expressed great concern over the "cultural imperialism" they feel is taking place within their borders. This is why they have created policies to encourage indigenous cultural expression in their national media (Frederick, 1992).
The U.S. Government's position asserting non justifiability of the treaty claims raised by France in the domestic and international lawsuits is......
