WASHINGTON - A US trade panel on Monday rejected proposed duties on steel wire from China and Mexico after determining US producers were not harmed or threatened by the imports.

The US International Trade Commission voted 4-2 to deny duties in the case filed last year by steel wire companies in California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Michigan and Oklahoma.

The panel also denied duties last week in two other cases involving refrigerators from South Korea and Mexico and steel wheels from China.

Altogether, the ITC rejected duties in three of five cases filed over two days last year, a development that could make some industry groups think twice before filing new requests for import relief.

In the steel wire case, the Commerce Department last month set duties ranging from 194 percent to 235 percent on imports from China and from 20.89 percent to 37.69 percent on imports from Mexico to offset "dumping," or selling in the United States at less than fair market value.

The department also set additional duties of 19.06 percent to 223.27 percent on the Chinese steel wire to "countervail" government subsidies.

Under the US system, the International Trade Commission must find domestic producers have been materially injured or are threatened with material injury for anti-dumping or countervailing duties to take force.

Importers will be refunded bonds or cash deposits they were required to post based on preliminary duty rates.