Turkey is to impose a 30-per cent tax on Syrian imports, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici was quoted by Arab media as saying Wednesday.
The move, which follows Syria's decision to cancel a 2004 free trade agreement with Ankara, adds pressure on the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad to end its deadly crackdown on dissidents, DPA reported.
"We will impose 30 per cent tax on goods coming from Syria," Yazici was quoted by the Dubai-based Al Arabiya network as saying.
Turkey, which has been highly critical of al-Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, announced on November 30 a ban on transactions with the Syrian government and its central bank, prompting Damascus to cancel the free trade agreement.