SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry minister departed for Washington earlier in the day as Seoul faces mounting tariff pressure from the United States amid a series of unresolved bilateral trade issues, sources said Sunday.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan's visit to the U.S. came at a sensitive time for bilateral trade relations, as Seoul faces growing U.S. pressure to accelerate its investment commitments under a bilateral tariff deal.

Earlier, the ministry said the U.S. government is expected to announce the results of its investigation into alleged overproduction under Section 301 of the Trade Act by the end of this month.

Last month, Washington also announced a new set of tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent, following an investigation into forced labor under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Under the new scheme, South Korea is subject to 12.5 percent tariffs, along with Japan and Switzerland.

Separate from the forced labor-related investigation, the U.S. government is also investigating 16 economies, including South Korea, over alleged excess industrial capacity under the same trade law.

Kim said earlier the two countries have agreed that any tariffs imposed under the Section 301 investigation would not exceed 15 percent, in line with the Seoul-Washington tariff agreement concluded last year.

South Korea exported US$122.9 billion to the U.S. and imported $73.4 billion last year, making the U.S. South Korea's second-largest trading partner.

sam@yna.co.kr

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