Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong has urged commerce attaches to prepare for a global trade war, which he said is likely to intensify next year.
"It [trade war] will be more intense next year, and we must assess its impact on the country," said Mr Sontirat to the directors of the Office of Commercial Affairs for 64 countries.
On the bright side, he said the country can export more and court more foreign investment.
"But there will be negative impacts ... so commerce attaches must adjust their focus and promote local products in the global market," Mr Sontirat said.
He also ordered ministry executives and commerce attaches to draw up plans to cope with the global trade war.
Such plans could help drive the country's international trade up before the new government takes office in about six months, he said.
The ministry projected exports to grow by 8% this year and Mr Sontirat said he is confident that the target will be achieved.
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs Somkid Jatusripitak will meet ministry officials to learn more about the ministry's export growth projection for 2019, Mr Sontirat said.
The minister also asked commerce attaches to focus on the local-to-global approach for Thai agricultural products and services.
Mr Sontirat said that more Thai restaurants should be opened overseas.
He asked the officials to explore this opportunity and report to the ministry within two weeks.
Currently, there are around 20,000 Thai restaurants aborad, but many of them are owned by foreigners, thus yielding little benefit for Thais, the minister said.
He added that commerce attaches should act more like "salesmen" and match foreign merchants with Thai operators, particularly those associated with innovation and technology -- sectors that could be a boon for Thai exports in the future.
Sontirat: Confident about export target
Mr Sontirat also said that the ministry might close commercial offices and/or move attaches out of countries where trade and Thai exports have failed to grow for three to five years.
Thai exports grew by 10% to US$169 billion in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year.
In another development, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will be asked to invoke Section 44 to adjust the role of the Office of SMEs Promotion (Osmep), to allow it to focus on formulating strategies and appraising agencies responsible for assisting and developing SMEs.
In the past, Osmep's tasks overlapped with those pursued by agencies attached to the Commerce and Industry ministries, such as organising exhibition booths and activities in expositions and trade shows.
"As I am a member of the Osmep board, I saw that various activities organised by the agency overlapped with those of other agencies," said Mr Sontirat said, adding he wants the organisation to be more focused on forming strategies for the development and promotion of SMEs and their future direction instead.