India seeks investments, but won’t sign unfair trade deals: Piyush Goyal

India has “red lines” to protect its economy and it won’t sign unfair trade agreements, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in London on Sunday.

Goyal spoke to an audience of Indian diaspora after his government’s policy measures on e-commerce, data localisation and a tax surcharge on the rich were believed to have spooked investors.

“Indian government is looking for ideas from all sides to strengthen and to give confidence to international investors, with the best of technologies, to come to India and invest,” he said.

India will sit down across the table and find a common meeting ground with the US and the UK, he said. “There are obviously some red lines, which each side may find difficult to compromise, but as long as we can respect that, as one would do in a business transaction or while negotiating a good deal, it will not be impossible to resolve it.”