* Section 301 probe targets excess capacity in 16 trading

partners

* Forced-labor probe covers about 60 countries, may ban

more US imports

* Trump aims to rebuild tariff pressure after Supreme

Court ruling

By David Lawder and Ismail Shakil

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump's administration said on Wednesday it was launching two

trade investigations into excess industrial capacity in 16 major

trading partners and into forced labor, rebuilding tariff

pressure after the Supreme Court tore down much of Trump's

tariff program last month.

China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea and

Mexico are among the economies that could face new tariffs by

this summer under the investigation of unfair trade practices,

said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Other partners subject to the excess-capacity probe under

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 are Taiwan, Vietnam,

Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh,

Switzerland and Norway. Canada, the second-largest U.S. trading

partner, was not included.

China said on Thursday the U.S. claim of overcapacity was a

"false proposition" and Beijing opposed "political manipulation

under this pretext". China is against all forms of unilateral

tariff measures, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said

at a regular press conference.

U.S. LOOKING AT TRADE SURPLUSES, UNDERUSED CAPACITY

The 27-nation European Union has said it wants to stick to

the terms of a deal signed at Trump's Turnberry golf course last

July, and that any new tariffs should reflect the broad 15%

overall U.S. levy agreed then.

European Parliament lawmakers, who have repeatedly delayed a

vote on that deal, said uncertainty remained.

"Who can guarantee that the final outcome will not mean even

higher tariffs for the EU? It is not enough to simply assume -

on both sides - that we will end up within the Turnberry

framework. We need clarity," trade committee chair Bernd Lange

wrote on X.

Greer told reporters the investigations "will focus on

economies that we have evidence appear to exhibit structural

excess capacity and production in various manufacturing sectors,

such as through larger persistent trade surpluses, or

underutilized or unused capacity".

USTR's official notice cited the automotive sector in China and

Japan, saying a growing number of companies were unprofitable or

unable to meet interest payments.

Japan is scrutinizing details of the probe but will continue

to implement its existing trade agreement with the U.S., Chief

Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference.

USTR said although China's electric-vehicle capacity

outstrips national demand, top EV maker BYD was

"aggressively expanding" its overseas manufacturing footprint,

with factories in Uzbekistan, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary and

Turkey, and was expected to expand capacity in Europe, where

existing automotive plants operate at only 55% of capacity.

Taiwan's cabinet said in a statement that the agreement on

reciprocal trade it signed with the U.S. last month established

consensus on many issues potentially covered by the probe.

Indonesia said its agreement with the U.S. remained the main

guideline in bilateral trade relations.

USTR cited large German and Irish surpluses in goods trade

with the United States as evidence of EU excess capacity. It

also bemoaned Singapore's, Norway's and Switzerland's hefty

surpluses in trade with the U.S., alongside what it said was

evidence of "structural excess capacity and production".

U.S. ALSO PLANS PROBE ON FORCED LABOR

Greer said he would initiate another Section 301 probe on

Thursday, under a provision to ban U.S. imports of goods

produced with forced labor. It will cover shipments from more

than 60 countries.

The U.S. has already cracked down on solar panels and other

goods from China's Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labor

Prevention Act, signed into law by president Joe Biden.

Greer said he wanted other countries to enforce bans on

goods produced with forced labor similar to those enshrined in a

nearly century-old trade law.

The U.S. alleges that Chinese authorities have established

labor camps for ethnic Uyghur and other Muslim groups. Beijing

denies allegations of abuse.

Greer said he hoped to conclude the Section 301

investigations, including proposed remedies, before temporary

tariffs imposed by Trump in late February expire in July.

After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's global tariffs

as illegal under a national emergencies law on February 20, he

imposed a 10% tariff for 150 days under Section 122 of the Trade

Act of 1974.

Public comments on the excess-capacity probe will be

accepted through April 15 and a public hearing will be held

around May 5.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to meet Chinese

counterparts in Paris this week to set the stage for Trump to

meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of the

month.

Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods were effectively cut by 10

percentage points by the Supreme Court decision and subsequent

temporary tariffs, reducing U.S. leverage on China trade and

export controls.