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GARY | Gov. Mike Pence has a message for the hundreds of Northwest Indiana steelworkers who have lost their jobs this year amid a record glut of imports.

"We as a state are deeply committed to this industry," he said. "We're going to continue to promote the kind of growth in Indiana and in the United States of America that convinces me the best days for Indiana and U.S. Steel are still to come."

Pence toured U.S. Steel's Gary Works for the first time Thursday at the invitation of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker. He met with plant manager Matthew Perkins and steelworkers to discuss critical issues the industry faces and hear what U.S. Steel has been doing to adapt. The steelmaker, which has sent layoff notices to about a quarter of its U.S. workforce this year, has laid off hundreds at Gary Works, where it closed the coke plant and dismissed all new hires who had started within the last six months.

Steelworkers at the sprawling mill that stretches along seven miles of Lake Michigan shoreline asked the governor about the importance of steel going forward, and what the state of Indiana will do to defend the industry.