Trade Negotiations in the Digital Era: The Case of OTT Video Streaming Services

This paper explores the dynamics of trade negotiations over over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services (VSS) in the multilateral trading system. Specifically, it compares specific commitments made under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and offers submitted to the Doha Round negotiations by the European Union and the United States, and examines the two countries’ recent domestic media regulatory reforms in order to delineate major negotiation issues for OTT VSS. The findings of the analysis suggest that the EU continues to take an ‘all-or-nothing’ negotiating strategy while the US takes a ‘salami-slice’ strategy on OTT VSS to pursue the utmost trade liberalization in the sector. The case study of OTT VSS highlights fundamental issues central to the ongoing services trade negotiations in the digital era. It may provide policymakers with significant implications regarding digital trade policy.