New Delhi, July 15 -- The US asked New Delhi to slash average applied tariffs on American agriculture imports to 5% from the existing level of about 40%, with this likely to be one of the key issues of the four-day long trade deliberations set to start in Washington on Monday, people in the know said. The US wants parity in the average applied tariff for a mutually beneficial and long-lasting bilateral trade relationship, the people added, requesting anonymity . But accepting the US demand is difficult for New Delhi because Indian farmers, operating at the subsistence level, cannot withstand an unequal competition with American commercial farms, they said. "While a bilateral trade deal should be based on reciprocity, it must also be based o...