The U.S. ITC has ruled that tariffs should remain in place for South Korean exports of utility-grade electrical transformers. That’s not a big surprise given Korean suppliers represented 23% of U.S. imports even with the duties. The decision should be a relief for Mexican suppliers (39% of the total) including the local subsidiaries of GE ($168 million of exports in the 12 months to July 31) and Siemens. Chinese suppliers won’t be able to expand their share of the market as section 301 duties led to a 73% drop in exports in July vs. a year earlier.