WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. International Trade Commission voted Thursday to keep antidumping and other restrictive measures imposed five years ago on imports of hot-rolled carbon-quality flat steel products from three nations, including Japan.

Following a recent decision by the Commerce Department to continue the measures, the trade panel determined in a 4-2 vote that ending them "would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time."

Given the affirmative determinations by the department and the ITC, the existing measures -- countervailing and antidumping duties on imports from Japan and Brazil and negotiated import limits on Russia -- "will remain in place," the commission said.