America has one of the most open economies in world: Mike Froman, US Trade Representative

WASHINGTON: The United States has one of the most open economies of the world and does not use regulation to discriminate against foreign goods, a top Obama Administration official has said.

"Whether we pursue trade agreements or not, the US will continue to see foreign imports because our consumers demand them and we have virtually no barriers to imports. The same is not true for the rest of the world," US Trade Representative, Mike Froman said in a major policy speech at a think-tank here.

"America already has one of the most open economies in the world. Our average applied tariffs are 1.3 per cent and we don't use regulation to discriminate against foreign goods," he said.

Froman's comments came as the US is pushing countries including India, Brazil and China to open up their economies for foreign companies.

"Today, the post-crisis surge in exports we experienced over the past few years is starting to recede. That's why we are working to open markets in the Asia-Pacific and in Europe, to eliminate tariffs on information technology products and on environmental goods and to open new markets for US services where we are a global leader," the top US official said.