Swedish supertalent Armand Duplantis won the pole vault gold medal in the Atketics Track and Field European Championship in Berlin tonight. He is 17 years old!
In the, according to experts, best pole vault competition ever Duplants broke the Junior World record and the magic 6 meter border by winning on 6.05 meters. The tenth person jumping over 6 meters ever. The first teenager to do so.
6.05 is the second best outdoor pole vault result ever in history, only 9 cm from Sergey Bubkas impissible record.
In this unbelievable competition Armand beat several of the greatest pole vaulters ever – including hos own childhood idol (pole vault legend) Renaud Lavillene from France who won the bronze medal on 5.95.
Duplantis took 5.90, his personal record 5.95, 6 meters and 6.05 meters all in his first attempts.
Now the super talent is celebrated worldwide as the biggest pole vault talent since Sergei Bubka and the new super star of track and field after Usain Bolt. Amazing.
My KGH colleague Lovisa Lindh, who won the 800 meters running ronze medal in the last European Championship, did inspite of a difficult season with inburies, another great championship and run the final also this time on 800 meters. Very well done Lovisa!
How Brazil has been targeted by international trade barriers?
There are many things I love with Brazil; like the people, the nature, the weather, football, samba, music….and Pão de queijo.
Pão de queijo, the traditional, gluten-free Brazilian chewy cheese roll, has been making waves in New York City. A number of restaurants serving this signature food from the state of Minas Gerais have popped up over the past few years.
In the European Union, however, they are banned. Labeled as a dairy product, pão de queijo can’t be exported to the EU – even though, by the group’s own rules, the fact that the product contains only 20 percent of milk derivatives should prevent pão de queijo from being tagged as dairy.
This is a great tragedy – not only since it is one of my personal favourite food products in the world, but also since it is exactly the type of national unique products should shape the basis of an increased Brazilian in international trade and participataion in te global supply chainz
That is just one of the 20 trade barriers identified by Brazil’s National Confederation of Industry (CNI) – 17 of which have been imposed by members of the G-20, the group of the world’s 19 biggest economies plus the European Union. CNI sponsored and supported our work with AEO Brazil 2015-2018.
According to data from Fundação Getulio Vargas, the country’s leading think tank, Brazil loses around 14 percent of its exports due to trade barriers and sanitary controls – amounting to USD 30.5 billion in 2017 alone. Some of the country’s main exports, such as sugar, meat, orange juice, and electronics, are the main targets.
While the European Union has imposed restrictions on Brazilian meat after a series of sanitary scandals, some of the restrictions smack of pure protectionism, such as the pão de queijo example.
Let’s hope that that this will change in the near future, even though emerging and increasing trade war measures hangs over us as rain clouds for the moment.
I want to start my days with Pão de queijo, also whem I am not in Brazil – but home in Europe.
World Trade Organization Director General, Roberto Azevedo, in today’s papers: “I am calling on everyone who believes in trade as a force for good, and who believes that global trade rules are an essential foundation for econom and prosperity, to speak up. Silence could prove as damaging as actions that lead to a trade war.”
Global trade is under threat. Whether or not you call the current situation a trade war, certainly the first shots have been fired. This calls for our attention, and most importantly, our action.
WTO data shows a marked escalation of trade-restriction measures over the last six months. A number of import-facilitating measures were also recorded during the same period; but crucially the value of trade covered by these measures is falling, whereas the coverage of the restrictive measures is rising rapidly. Restrictive measures can include tariffs, quotas and stricter customs regulations.
The situation is extremely serious. Reciprocal trade restrictions cannot be the new normal. A continued escalation would risk a major economic impact, threatening jobs and growth in all countries, hitting the poorest hardest.
There is a responsibility on the whole international community to help resolve these issues. I have been consulting with governments and leaders around the world, urging dialogue and exploring steps to unwind the current situation. But I have also been talking to a wider range of contacts across civil society – including parliaments, business, think tanks and the media – to raise awareness of what is at stake. I am calling on everyone who believes in trade as a force for good, and who believes that global trade rules are an essential foundation for economic stability and prosperity, to speak up. Silence could prove as damaging as actions that lead to a trade war.
There have been some signs of progress. People are beginning to raise their voices. Business leaders and associations are calling on governments to refrain from putting up new barriers. They are asking for governments to negotiate and find solutions. We are seeing a wider understanding that higher tariffs mean higher prices and lower salaries in real terms, and that greater uncertainty risks investors pulling back and jobs being lost. And from leaders around the world, we are seeing much greater engagement in the WTO. Instead of tearing it up, they want to strengthen the system and improve it. This could potentially help us to defuse tensions and find a path out of the current crisis in global trade.
Source: WTO
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