President Donald Trump is considering putting tariffs and quotas on steel imported from foreign countries.
The president says that China and other unnamed countries are dumping steel in the US market.
That hurts US steelmakers by reducing prices, he told reporters.
The comments were initially said to be off the record, but the White House decided to make them public on Thursday.
President Trump said: "We're like a dumping ground, OK? They're dumping steel and destroying our steel industry."
He says he is considering both quotas and tariffs to stop any dumping.
The Commerce Department is reviewing, at his request, whether to impose a tariff on steel imports for national security reasons.
The US imports 30% of the steel it consumes. Only 3% of steel imports come from China.
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