A controversial ban on calling plant-based patties “burgers” could have an unintended consequence: harming the seafood industry.  As the debate over which proteins can be labeled “hamburger” and “steak” swirls across Brussels, no one is talking about how it would play out in the other 23 languages of the bloc. In Spanish, for example, the translated term for “steak” — a word the ban says can only apply to meat products — is “filete,” often used for cuts of fish. Lawmakers and farm groups in favor of the ban say it will help clarify things for consumers, but it could end up causing confusion.  Terms like “filete de lubina” (sea bass filet) and “lomos de atún” (tuna loin or steak) are common on fish labels, according to Daniel Voces de Onaíndi, managing director of Europêche. The EU seafood industry trade association backs the principle behind the veggie burger ban when it comes to blocking vegetables from using words associated with meat or fish. But ambiguity about non-English terms could ensnare fish, Voces de Onaíndi noted with alarm. He called on EU negotiators to sort out the issue during interinstitutional talks on the broader legislation, which is related to the EU’s common agricultural market. “We hope it could be clarified … that it refers exclusively to meat products, without negatively affecting or excluding traditional seafood packaging in other sectors,” he said. “Attention must be given to ensuring the linguistic consistency across all EU languages.”  French MEP Céline Imart, who proposed European Parliament’s ban, did not respond to requests for comment. A separate proposal from the European Commission bans more specific terms, like “wing” and “drumstick.” In Spanish, for example, the translated term for “steak” — a word the ban says can only apply to meat products — is “filete,” often used for cuts of fish. | Richard Lautens/Getty Images Even in English, some of these “meaty” terms cross sectors. After all, anglophones eat “tuna steaks,” too. Will Nestlé have to update its famous Drumstick ice cream cones? (Unclear.) Will McDonald’s need to rename the Filet-O-Fish? (Probably not. “Filet” in English is still kosher for meat products.) Consumer organizations say linguistic issues aside, the ban should be a nonstarter.  “The term ‘sausage’ or ‘burger’ is about the shape of food, not what’s in there, and it shouldn’t be claimed by one industry alone,” said Olivia Brown, policy officer at Euroconsumers.  She said the goal should be clear labeling that helps consumers understand what they’re eating. So, the `”veggie” part of “veggie burger” is more relevant for consumer clarity than eliminating “burger.” A 2020 BEUC study found that consumers are not confused by the naming of veggie burgers or sausages, as long as they are identifiable as vegetarian.

BRUSSELS — The next obstacle to the trade deal between the European Union and the United States won’t come from the Oval Office — but rather from the second-biggest party in the European Parliament. The European Socialists have come out against the accord that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck with U.S. President Donald Trump in July. That will make her job of building the majority she needs to enact the tariff truce a tough one — and failure to do so could plunge the transatlantic trade relationship back into turmoil. “We firmly oppose the agreement,” Iratxe García Pérez, president of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) parliamentary group, told POLITICO.  The Socialists’ opposition imperils the EU’s efforts to present the pact as guarding transatlantic unity against Moscow. It also deepens a rift with von der Leyen’s center-right allies the European People’s Party (EPP) — who support the deal — which has in the past worked with the S&D to pursue a moderate agenda. The standoff comes just weeks after von der Leyen had to make long-term commitments on social spending to secure the support of the Socialists to win a high-stakes motion of no confidence. The S&D lost leverage in the 2024 European election, when an electoral shift made it possible for the EPP to pass measures with the support of political groups on the right of the political spectrum. As their presence in the Commission and in national governments has dwindled, the Socialists have become increasingly strident in their criticism of the EU executive and the EPP — and are eager to leverage their remaining political weight to extract political concessions. EXPLOITING WEAKNESS Since the transatlantic trade agreement was sealed at Trump’s golf resort in Turnberry, Brussels has faced charges that it surrendered to Washington and did not make use of the EU’s economic heft, as a market of 450 million people, to respond to Trump’s aggressive negotiating tactics. García Pérez comments came after Trump threatened last week to punish countries that impose digital rules and taxes that discriminate against American companies. She insisted the EU should make use of its toughest trade weapon, the Anti-Coercion Instrument, to hit back at Trump’s bullying.  “Trump will exploit any sign of weakness to escalate the trade war,” she added. García Pérez’s defiance followed criticism of the trade deal by Teresa Ribera, the top-ranking Socialist in von der Leyen’s Commission. Ribera, who oversees competition policy, told the Financial Times last Friday that the EU needed to be ready to walk away from the deal if Trump acts on his tech threats. And on Monday, European Council President António Costa — another Socialist — said he acknowledged “the frustration felt by many Europeans, who perceive the Union as having been too passive in shaping this summer’s developments on trade, relations with the U.S. and Ukraine.” European Council President António Costa — another Socialist — said he acknowledged “the frustration felt by many Europeans, who perceive the Union as having been too passive in shaping this summer’s developments on trade, relations with the U.S. and Ukraine.” | Rodrigo Antunes/EPA Costa, a former Portuguese premier who now represents the interests of EU governments, said in a speech in Slovenia that Washington’s attack on the EU over its tech regulations amounted to regulatory overreach and censorship. “Our partners — including the U.S. — must know that the EU will always defend its sovereignty, its citizens, its companies and its values,” Costa said. “Diplomacy should never be mistaken for complacency.” Under the deal, most EU exports are subject to an all-in 15 percent U.S. tariff. To complete its side of the bargain, the EU should pass legislation to abolish all tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, including the 10 percent it charges on U.S. autos, and ease market access for some farm produce and seafood. “In the bigger picture, the Socialists have good reasons to oppose this deal, because it is very unclear what the rationale was for von der Leyen to give away the EU’s WTO orientation and these massive concessions for security guarantees that are nowhere in near sight,” said David Kleimann, a senior trade expert at the ODI Europe think tank in Brussels. Kleimann was referring to concerns that the agreement goes against global trade rules as enshrined at the World Trade Organization. UPHILL BATTLE The most immediate test for the deal will be when the Parliament weighs in on the legislation proposed by the Commission last week to scrap the tariffs on U.S. industrial goods — a prerequisite for Washington in turn to lower its tariffs on European autos to 15 percent from 27.5 percent. With autos the largest transatlantic export of the bloc’s largest economy, Germany, the stakes are high. The most immediate test for the deal will be when the Parliament weighs in on the legislation proposed by the Commission last week to scrap the tariffs on U.S. industrial goods — a prerequisite for Washington in turn to lower its tariffs on European autos to 15 percent from 27.5 percent. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Bernd Lange, a German S&D lawmaker who chairs the Parliament’s trade committee, warned that Brussels must be ready to act fast if Washington fails to deliver on its pledge to reduce car tariffs — and especially if Trump moves against the EU’s regulatory sovereignty on digital or green rules. Lawmakers will get their first opportunity to vent their frustration when Sabine Weyand, the top official in the Commission’s trade department, testifies before Lange’s committee on Wednesday. Lange, who will be the lead lawmaker on the proposals, said that if the United States doesn’t reduce tariffs on European cars, “then we will not lower the 10 percent U.S. tariffs. That is clear.” To pass, the legislation would require a simple majority of votes cast. If von der Leyen can’t persuade the S&D group to back the trade deal, her party would, along with the moderate coalition allies that elected her to a second term, need the votes of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group and the far-right party Patriots for Europe to secure its passage. “The S&D has always been more critical of the United States trying to strong-arm the EU into following their position. They are generally more opposed than the transatlanticist EPP on the other side, which would want to keep this truce alive,” Kleimann added. The EPP, von der Leyen’s political family, broadly backs the deal but has also raised concerns. “I support the Commission in its efforts to create predictability in trade with one of our most important partners — but I have concerns about how the agreement is compatible with [World Trade Organization] rules, which I am in the process of analyzing now,” said Jörgen Warborn, the EPP’s trade policy lead. Koen Verhelst and Seb Starcevic contributed reporting. 

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Thursday proposed new legislation to eliminate tariffs on U.S. industrial goods, a move that should unlock a reduction in Washington’s own tariffs on European autos. Putting forward the legislation is a precondition for President Donald Trump’s administration to drop tariffs on European cars to 15 percent from the current 27.5 percent. Under the terms of the transatlantic trade deal unveiled a week ago, the U.S. would in turn backdate the reduction in its auto tariffs to Aug. 1. “The first act concerns a proposal to eliminate tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and provide preferential market access for a range of US seafood and non-sensitive agricultural goods,” the European Commission said in a press release. “The second one proposes to prolong the tariff-free treatment of lobster, now including processed lobster.” The agreement, EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič said last week, was good news for the bloc’s auto industry, which has been “bleeding a lot of cash” in recent months. “This will save car makers more than €500 million in duties that would have otherwise been paid for exports in one month only,” Brussels added in its statement. The handshake trade deal reached between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland at the end of July would set a baseline U.S. tariff on European exports of 15 percent. The EU would meanwhile scrap industrial tariffs — including the 10 percent it currently levies on autos made in the United States. Brussels has also committed to open its market wider for a basket of U.S. farm exports. The next key question is whether the United States will indeed make good on its side of the bargain. Trump cast the fragile transatlantic trade truce into doubt earlier this week when he threatened new tariffs on countries who apply digital policies that he deems discriminatory.  A senior Commission official was confident this would go through.  “There should not be any doubt: their tariffs on cars and car parts should go down. That is the U.S. part of the bargain,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told a briefing.  LOBSTER IN, BEEF OUT Commission officials underlined that no “sensitive” farm goods were included, stressing that U.S. beef and poultry remain explicitly excluded from the concessions. These products are politically explosive in Europe, where stricter hormone and hygiene rules have long limited American imports. Instead, Brussels offered tariff-rate quotas on a limited list of U.S. agrifood exports such as dairy, pork, nuts, seafood and even bison meat. It also kept all U.S. lobster imports tariff-free, a politically potent win in Washington, landing as Maine’s lobster season is in full swing. One official described the concessions as “meaningful, but not very costly” for the EU. That offers little relief for European farm lobbies which were already critical of the outline of the deal last week. Groups like Copa-Cogeca and Farm Europe argue that European agriculture “footed the bill” for the handshake deal. It won no reciprocal gains, they said, while still facing a 15 percent tariff ceiling on most exports to the U.S., including products that previously traded tariff-free, like wine and spirits. Farm groups say rural interests were effectively sidelined while Europe’s carmakers walked away with the prize. EU HURDLES Proposing the tariff legislation is only a first step, as the Commission will still need the assent of at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member countries and a simple majority in the European Parliament for it to take effect.  Since the Commission negotiated the trade deal with the political blessing of member countries, the Council of the EU that represents them shouldn’t present a major hurdle. The European Parliament could be a different proposition, however, with Bernd Lange, the chair of its international trade committee, telling POLITICO on Wednesday “there are disagreements about what the exact reduction in numbers should look like, particularly in the agricultural sector.” Another issue, he added, was how the deal would be implemented and for how long. European lawmakers will reconvene next week in Strasbourg for the first time after the summer recess. Sabine Weyand, the top official at the Commission’s trade department, will testify before the trade committee on Wednesday. “We have a parliament with a very divided configuration, and ‘reason’ may not always be the first characteristic,” said Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a French lawmaker from the Renew group. That said, Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party that has the largest caucus, has said his conservatives would stand by the deal struck by von der Leyen, describing it as “painful but right.” This story has been updated.

Donald Trump wants to enjoy a long weekend of golfing. Good luck with that. The U.S. president lands in Scotland, his mother’s birthplace, on Friday for the first time since his return to the White House. On the itinerary is time at his Turnberry and Aberdeen golf resorts, plus meetings with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney.  But with colorful protests expected, Trump’s trip has prompted a security operation as big as Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022. Up to 6,000 officers will shield the most powerful man in the world from what are expected to be significant demonstrations. The Scottish Police Federation has already queried whether adequate resources are in place to manage such a huge operation. So what do those closest to the action think about the circus coming to town? POLITICO grilled seven plugged-in Scottish politicians of all stripes on the flying visit — and asked where Trump should go if he does manage to venture away from the golf course. ELAINE STEWART, LABOUR MP FOR AYR, CARRICK & CUMNOCK Elaine Stewart has only been the Labour MP whose patch covers Trump Turnberry for just over a year — but she isn’t daunted by the president’s arrival.  “He’s been here before,” Stewart says. “That same spectacle happened when he was president the first time.” Despite concerns around policing, Stewart — who recalls the last presidential Trump trip to Scotland — says she’s confident this visit will go off without a security hitch. “There was security on the beaches and the roads and there were loads of police everywhere,” she says. “Loads of people … watched because it’s something that they thought they would never see again,” Stewart mused. “But here we are.”  Stewart has been meeting farmers in her local constituency — who say they benefit directly from Trump’s presence. “[The resort] sources all his meat and his seafood and vegetables locally,” she says. The U.S. president loves a grand gesture and a prime bit of real estate — so Stewart recommends a trip to the clifftop Culzean Castle just a few miles from Turnberry.  Dating back centuries, the stately home has a suite gifted to former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower for his military leadership during the Second World War as supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. ALEC CLARK, INDEPENDENT DEPUTY LEADER OF SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL  Trump’s presence will generate global attention — but Alec Clark will have to deal with the local reaction long after the president has jetted back to America. The independent deputy leader of South Ayrshire Council, whose ward includes Trump Turnberry, is in a sunny mood about the trip, praising the funds that Trump’s company has plowed into the tiny rural village. “The actual investment that goes into Turnberry year after year, week after week, day after day, is tremendous,” Clark says, lauding the more than 400 people employed “in a rural area where every job is like gold dust.”  The estate unsurprisingly became a huge attraction after Trump entered politics, and Clark has noticed that “tourists are stopping there to take photographs of the hotel.” He ascribes Trump’s “sympathetic stance” toward Scotland to his mother’s Scottish roots. On the itinerary is time at his Turnberry and Aberdeen golf resorts. | Robert Perry/EPA As police prepare for protests, Clark defends such dissent as “one of the things you’ve got to handle” in a democracy. “It’s only courteous to listen, because people can protest … but the only way to make a difference is to discuss,” he reflects. If Trump does have some time away from the golf buggy, Clark reckons he should pop along to the Robert Burns museum in Alloway, a suburb north of Turnberry, to learn more about the poet and view some original manuscripts. “Burns is history,” Clark says. “Burns is the National Bard of Scotland. He’s known all over the world.” BRIAN WHITTLE, TORY SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER (MSP) FOR SOUTH SCOTLAND  Brian Whittle is no stranger to presidential big beasts rolling into town. Prior to entering the Scottish Parliament to represent South Scotland — which includes Turnberry — the Conservative MSP ran an event management company that organized a visit to Glasgow by Bill Clinton. When U.S. presidents come to Scotland, they don’t travel lightly.  Clinton’s trip in the mid-2000s after leaving the White House involved three months of preparation, Whittle said, including many meetings with the U.S. Secret Service and British spooks in MI5 and MI6. “If that’s the level of security required for a former president of the United States, a current president, especially one with Donald Trump’s current reputation … would be even greater, much greater than what I had to deal with,” he says. Given that Trump’s visit — billed as a private trip — is a tad spontaneous, Whittle isn’t surprised there’s been a “bit of scrambling around to make sure all the protocols are in place.”  “No matter where he goes, there’ll be protests,” the Tory MSP says. “That’s part of the deal, that’s part of the job.”  But he urges Scots not to get too excited. “On one level, this story is about: Somebody owns a bit of property and is coming to see a property.” Whittle says Turnberry is a “massive asset” that encourages global visitors. “If you go down there, it’s always busy as a venue,” he adds. WENDY CHAMBERLAIN, LIB DEM MP FOR NORTH EAST FIFE  As a former cop, the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, Wendy Chamberlain, is thinking about the “day-to-day” impact on policing of the Trump team rolling into town. “These are huge logistical challenges for police forces,” she says. “One of the challenges of it being private is there seems to be a lack of knowledge about what’s actually happening.” Keir Starmer’s Westminster administration has been at pains to cosy up to Donald Trump. | Pool Photo by Ludovic Marin via EPA Chamberlain is the chief enforcer of House of Commons discipline for the centrist Liberal Democrats, who have built a brand around calling out Trump. “There always has been quite an active protest movement, sometimes with a good deal of humor as well, which is very Scottish,” Chamberlain says. But she understands why Starmer and Swinney — both from center-left parties — would meet with the right-wing Republican firebrand. “You have to look past the individual that’s in the role of the president of the United States — and look at the role itself,” she says. MERCEDES VILLALBA, LABOUR MSP FOR NORTH EAST SCOTLAND  Starmer’s Westminster administration has been at pains to cosy up to Trump. Not everyone in his party is happy. Mercedes Villalba, a Labour MSP for North East Scotland, which covers Trump’s Aberdeen estate, is a fierce critic of the U.S. president’s foreign policy — especially in the Middle East.  Her constituents will show support for “the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination,” she says, with the Palestinian flag flying above Dundee’s City Chambers, a place twinned with Nablus in the Occupied West Bank since 1980.   “Our region’s rich history of solidarity at home and abroad is alien to Donald Trump,” Villalba said. To her, Trump is a “convicted felon who has pledged to turn Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ and continues to send weapons to a state credibly accused of genocide.”  Villalba has no doubt her constituents “will make their opposition to the U.S. president’s visit abundantly clear,” and hopes Swinney demonstrates “the same commitment to peace and justice” during his own expected meeting with the U.S. president. TESS WHITE, CONSERVATIVE MSP FOR NORTH EAST SCOTLAND  Northeastern Scotland sits on vast quantities of gas and oil — but the British government is wary about the climate impacts of getting stuck in. Having worked in the energy sector for three decades, Tess White, a Tory MSP for the region, hopes the president’s trip will spark “widespread recognition” of the dangers of switching to renewables too quickly.  Trump has long complained about Scotland’s wind turbines. White said she hopes that “President Trump will do in two days what the SNP have just failed to do in over a decade,” aiming a shot at Scotland’s ruling Scottish National Party. She reckons Trump should visit the government-run renewables investment body GB Energy in Aberdeen — to see for himself that it’s “really not a serious vehicle for strengthening and improving our oil and gas industry.” White also blames “very, very” stretched policing around the visit on the SNP. “Police officers are under immense strain with millions of hours in overtime being notched up,” she warns. When in town, White recommends Trump try some Angus beef (“the best in the world”) and additive-free locally grown fruit. Northeastern Scotland sits on vast quantities of gas and oil — but the British government is wary about the climate impacts of getting stuck in. | Robert Perry/EPA TORCUIL CRICHTON, LABOUR MP FOR NA H-EILEANAN AN IAR  Torcuil Crichton has served as Labour MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar since last July. The Western Isles include Lewis, where Trump’s mother Mary Anne MacLeod was born in 1912.  “People in Lewis are very proud of Mary Anne MacLeod and that entire emigration generation of islanders who left in their thousands during the hungry 1920s and made America great,” Crichton said. “Mr Trump is a son of Lewis,” he added. “While oceans separate our politics, any island exile is embraced on their return. “Every prodigal son is welcomed home.”