SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's industry minister said Thursday that 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.

"As we understand, the announcement is expected to be made by the end of August," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan said during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a Seoul-based journalists' association.

"We are doing our best to ensure that any tariffs resulting from the ongoing investigation remain within the 15 percent ceiling under the existing Korea-U.S. trade agreement."

Last month, Washington 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 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 United States and imported $73.4 billion last year, making the U.S. South Korea's second-largest trading partner.

brk@yna.co.kr

(END)

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