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India Raises Import Taxes on Pakistan Goods After Terror Attack

Basic customs duty on all Pakistan exports to India will be increased to 200 percent immediately: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

India Raises Import Taxes on Pakistan Goods After Terror Attack

(Bloomberg) -- India raised duties on all goods imported from Pakistan following the withdrawal of most-favored nation status to its neighbor after a terror attack last week killed dozens of Indian soldiers.

The basic customs duty on all Pakistan exports to India will be increased to 200 percent immediately, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a post on Twitter.

India Raises Import Taxes on Pakistan Goods After Terror Attack

Withdrawing the status to Pakistan could affect $2.61 billion worth of bilateral trade, an Indian government official said Friday. Imports from Pakistan include fruit, salt, fuel and fertilizer, according to the International Trade Centre.

The move comes after 40 paramilitary personnel died and many others were injured in an assault Thursday on a convoy in Kashmir. Jaish-e-Mohammad, a Pakistan-based terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack that took place in Pulwama near the state capital Srinagar.

Pakistan denied the allegations. Finance Minister Asad Umar said withdrawal of most-favored nation status by India won’t have any consequences for the economy.

India Raises Import Taxes on Pakistan Goods After Terror Attack

“India will give a befitting reply to this incident,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech on Friday. “The security forces have been given full freedom to decide. I want to tell the terror groups and their sponsors that they have committed a grave mistake for which they will now have to pay a very heavy price."

To contact the reporter on this story: Kartik Goyal in Mumbai at kgoyal@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta

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