Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part B (2024)

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the arrangement of the process in which the national markets can cooperate with the international markets to exchange health services. For this study, the purpose is to determine the advantage of GATs and try to define different kinds of healthcare services through various service trade databases like EBOPS, WTO list and different CPC codes between South East Asian countries that can be possessed in future if there is exchange of health care services trade in the dimension of cross border flow of health aid, commercial trade presence, and international consumption of health-related services and movement of health staff. The approach of methodology for the study is based on secondary research by the review of certain literary sources from official websites of GATs, WTO and several health care organizations of BIMSTEC countries that have conducted trade with each other. To figure out healthcare trade potentialities among BIMSTEC regions by evaluating individual countries export and import rate on health service and calculate the Revealed competitive advantage (RCA) and calculate average growth rate (CAGR). To find out the service sector commitment level towards health service among BIMSTEC region through Hoekman index method using cluster analysis.
It could be determined from the findings that there is positive interrelation with the cross-border exchange of health trade, movement of health staff, commercial trade presence and international consumption of health associated services and the international trade services. In this article, the aspects affecting access to healthcare are linked to the trade in health services, with a particular emphasis on the health services industries of South East Asian nations. Certain recommendations are made regarding how to improve the regional co-operation of healthcare trade services through the implementation of specific policies, financial investments, and security precautions through RCA, CAGR & Hoekman Index.