The Liberalization of Maritime Transport Services: With Special Reference to the WTO/GATS Framework (Hamburg Studies on Maritime Affairs, 1)

Despite multiple efforts on the bilateral, regional and multilateral level to create uniform or at least harmonized rules for commercial operations and practices in the maritime transport sector and to liberalize maritime transport services by tearing down the barriers that exist in that sector, there is until today no global regime regulating (or rather deregulating) the supply of maritime transport services and ensuring open markets. In this situation, private economic actors are confronted with substantial legal uncertainty. This book provides a detailed analysis of the history of maritime transport services in the Uruguay and post-Uruguay Round negotiations and the role of the sector in the ongoing Doha Round talks, where Member States have the opportunity to work towards a global regime ensuring the progressive liberalization of the sector. The reader will be confronted with an extensive overview of the role of maritime transport services in the WTO/GATS framework, a topic basically uncovered in the literature so far. Altough efforts to create uniform or at least harmonized rules for commercial operations and practices in the maritime transport sector and to liberalize maritime transport services by tearing down the barriers that exist in that sector, there is until today no global regime regulating (or rather deregulating) the supply of maritime transport services and ensuring open markets. In this situation private economic actors are confronted with substantial legal uncertainty. This book provides a detailed analysis of the history of maritime transport services in the Uruguay and post-Uruguay Round negotiations and the role of the sector in the ongoing Doha Round talks, where Member States have the opportunity to work towards a global regime ensuring the progressive liberalization of the sector. The reader will be confronted with an extensive overview of the role of the maritime transport services in the WTO / GATS framework, a topic basically uncovered in the literature so far. TOC:Trade in Services and World Economic Growth.- Identifying Trade Barries.- The Dogmatic Concept Underlying Maritime Transport Services in International Law.- Trade in Maritime Transport Services: The Regulatory Framework.- Maritime Transport Services in the World Trade Organization.- Summary of Study "This book provides a detailed analysis of the history of maritime transport services in the Uruguay and post-Uruguay Round negotiations and the role of the sector in the ongoing Doha Round talks, where Member States have the opportunity to work towards a global regime ensuring the progressive liberalization of the sector. The reader will be confronted with an extensive overview of the role of maritime transport services in the WTO/GATS framework, a topic basically uncovered in the literature so far."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages I-XXIII Introduction....Pages 1-3 Trade in Services and World Economic Growth....Pages 5-40 Identifying Trade Barriers....Pages 41-69 The Dogmatic Concept Underlying Maritime Transport Services in International Law....Pages 71-105 Trade in Maritime Transport Services: The Regulatory Framework....Pages 107-183 Maritime Transport Services in the World Trade Organization....Pages 185-366 Summary of Study....Pages 367-372 Back Matter....Pages 373-427 Maritime transport is of huge economic significance, not only in respect of its importance for global trade in goods - it is estimated that fully 90-95 percent of today's international trade in goods by volume and weight is carried by sea - but also as an important service sector in its own right.