Finally, the government has laid its cards on the table, giving details of the trade proposal it will submit to the US Trade Representative (USTR). Yet some offers will raise doubts about their enforceability and impact.
In essence, the list of five proposals illustrates how Thailand will trade, invest, and buy more from the US in a bid to have Washington lower the tariffs on products exported from Thailand. The shopping list of items that Thailand will buy includes energy, petrochemicals, animal feed such as corn and maize, fruit, aircraft, and beef products.
Two issues justify some caution and are worth debate.
The third proposal, entitled "opening the market", needs more clarification from the government. This offer requires Thailand to reduce trade and non-trade barriers and cut restrictions on items such as cherries, apples, wheat and meat products.
While the measure sounds agreeable for trade negotiators, the item labelled as "meat products" raises concern over whether it includes pork and the impact on local swine farmers.
For almost a decade, the US has been asking Thailand to allow imports of US pork. Thailand, along with the EU, Russia and China, has banned the use of ractopamine, a feed additive commonly used by US pork producers to enhance animals' muscle leanness and growth rates, out of health safety concerns.
The government needs to be clear which meat items it is dealing with and what it can do to soften the impact on local producers and manufacturers. The last thing the public wants is to see deals arising from the negotiations that overlook the survival of the local farm sector, food security and food safety.
The most interesting item is the measure to protect "trade circumvention", in which some local exporters use materials and resources from other countries for export as "Made-in-Thailand" goods.
News reports have emerged that Southeast Asian countries have become export fronts for China, which angers Washington. Products made in China, boxed in Thailand, with a "Made in Thailand" label, are exported to other countries, including the US, to attract lower duties.
The government must show it has reliable traceability mechanisms to guarantee that exports from Thailand use local materials and are locally made. What the public has seen so far is officials raiding shops and supermarkets that sell cheap and illegal products from China, after cheap goods from that country flooded the Thai market.
The government still needs to show that officials have scrutinised exporters' production chains, and is not just focusing on checking customs documents.
More promotions and rewards are also needed for the local exporters who actually make Thai products. Instead of pouring billions of baht into promoting "soft power", the government needs to divert funds to promote the "Made-in-Thailand" brand.
President Donald Trump's hyper-tariffs are disrupting global trade in unthinkable ways. But in crisis, opportunity lurks. This is also a catalyst for Thailand to take care of its local manufacturers and make them more competitive.