US Commerce Secretary emphasizes opening economy would benefit farmers

The US Trade Secretary Carlos Guiterrez, who is on his first trip to India, said that opening India's consumer sector would benefit India's farmers. Emphasizing that the government needs to take a more proactive step in helping the markets, he said, “More needs to be done to open India’s markets ... there are some sectors such as retail, banking, financial services and telecommunications where obstacles remain.” The Trade Secretary also advised the government not to build walls around its economy and said that instead India must not stop foreign companies from coming in as it would help its citizens. Interesting that his visit was just a week after Congress President Sonia Gandhi's letter of caution on retail FDI to the Prime Minister's Office caused tremors in both business and political circles.