NEW DELHI, May 5: The US has asked India to lower agricultural tariffs, ensure a vibrant intellectual property rights (IPR) regime and open up its retail sector to foreign investment to further improve bilateral relations.

“India needs to sort through the challenge of its high trade barriers. The more India can lower its barriers, the better off its people.

“While India has significantly lowered tariffs on non-agricultural products, agricultural tariffs remain around 40 per cent,” US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Franklin L Lavin said at a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian chambers of commerce and industry (FICCI).

While some progress has been made towards creating a more comprehensive framework for IPR protection in India, this country still does not have in place a TRIPS-consistent data exclusivity regime for these products, he quipped.

On the US front, Lavin said that it was beefing up its commercial service offices and announced adding a new official position in Kolkata in June to meet the growing needs in India.—APP