EACA CEO Charley Stoney Expects A Focus On Local Markets Amid 15% EU Tariffs

EACA CEO Charley Stoney Expects A Focus On Local Markets Amid 15% EU Tariffs

With the official release of the EU/US tariffs statement, the CEO of the European trade association, Charley Stoney, is optimistic about localisation and a bigger focus on the EU in the marketing industry reports LBB’s Aysun Bora.

The chief executive officer of the trade organisation European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA), Charley Stoney, expects companies to focus on local European markets in their marketing as a result of the 15% tariffs the US imposed on the EU.

As of 21 August 2025, the European Commission has published the terms of the tariff agreement between the EU and US. The backbone of the statement remains the same as the agreement with US president Donald Trump and the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen earlier this month in Scotland.

The US will apply 15% on the majority of exports from the EU, while the EU “intends to eliminate tariffs on all US industrial goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of US seafood and agricultural goods”.

EACA CEO Charley says that “localisation is coming back” to the EU “full swing”. Due to the political climate, “global initiatives are not seen as popular”, she highlights. “In the EU, there was already a move towards buying local.”

She also says that marketers will have to “be more strategic in their outlook, because they will have to defend their position within their own country.”