The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a 15 percent ceiling on tariffs applied to South Korean goods, Seoul's trade ministry said on Friday, after Washington announced new Section 301 forced-labour tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on 60 trading partners. South Korea, alongside Japan and Switzerland, faces the 12.5 percent rate under the new measures, which took effect Friday under a law dating to 1974 and were introduced after a temporary global 10 percent tariff expired following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Trump administration's earlier reciprocal tariff scheme. Seoul now faces the added risk that a separate, ongoing US investigation into alleged industrial overcapacity could push combined duties above the agreed ceiling, and both the trade ministry and the presidential office said they would continue close consultations with Washington to ensure the bilaterally negotiated 15 percent limit is upheld.