Like tariffs and other border measures, national regulatory barriers impede international trade. Unlike tariffs, however, such barriers usually indicate an important domestic policy choice. This "conflict of interest" has emerged as a crucial issue in international law, particularly with regard to services, such as telecommunications and health services.

This study is the first to analyze the potential impact of incompatibilities between national regulatory regimes and the rules and obligations imposed by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In the process of arriving at his challenging concluding theses, the author investigates such relevant concepts as the following:

Dr Krajewski's study is of enormous significance to specialists in regulatory policies and instruments at all national and sectoral levels, especially in the context of ongoing GATS negotiations. As the author warns: "Unless GATS negotiators and national regulators have a thorough understanding of the relationship between GATS obligations and regulatory policies and instruments, they cannot effectively use the flexible elements of GATS and could reach an agreement which they may later regret."