A man uses his phone as the logo of Spanish stainless steel manufacturer Acerinox is displayed on their offices in Madrid, Spain, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera

By Javi West Larrañaga

(Reuters) -The boss of Spanish steelmaker Acerinox praised on Friday recently announced steel import quotas by the European Commission but said the company was working to get the measures adopted more quickly.

"We are pushing and trying to accelerate the process as much as we can," Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Velazquez said on a call with analysts, suggesting the measures should come into place as early as April 2026, before the current ones expire at the end of June.

"We can say that we are very close to having the protection that we were dreaming and asking for for so many years," Velazquez said, referring to the U.S. tariffs of 50% on steel and the import quotas in the EU.

The measures will put Acerinox on a level-playing-field with non-European competitors, Velazquez added.

The steelmaker has long decried what it calls global overcapacity and pressure from cheap Asian imports underpricing European firms.

'MORE REGIONAL FUTURE'

Acerinox missed third-quarter earning estimates but Chief Corporate Officer Miguel Ferrandis said the company had hit bottom and was set to recover, as tariffs were lifting stainless steel prices in the U.S.

According to Ferrandis, those signs of recovery, or "green shoots" were still not visible in Europe, especially as Asian players were ramping up exports in anticipation of the EU's measures and imports rose 36% from January to August.

Velazquez added that in response to changing trade policies, the company was preparing for a "more regional future." He cited making its South African business less reliant on exports and focusing on local sales as an example.

"In the past (the output) was 70% export, 30% local. Now we are targeting to have more or less 60% local, 40% export," Velazquez said.

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Anna Pruchnicka)