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Obama to Back Anti-Brexit Campaign On Trip To U.K. Next Week | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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British Labour Party politician Alistair Darling gestures toward a journalist while giving a speech on the economics arguments for EU membership in London on April 15, 2016


During his visit to UK next week, President Barak Obama has planned to take part in the Brexit debate, with a clear call for Britain to remain part of the European Union. Obama sees that keeping the bloc together is not only a British decision to be made by the people of UK, but also it is in the interests of the United Stated, United Kingdom, and the rest of EU.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said “If he’s asked his view as a friend, he will offer it” adding that they believe that the benefit is mutual when the EU can speak with a strong and single voice, and can work with everyone to advance all shared interests, regarding both security and prosperity.

As part of a trip to Europe and the Middle East President Obama will arrive in London just as the Brexit referendum debate shifts up a gear. Today marks the first day of official campaigning ahead of the June 23 vote, noting that certain polls suggesting that the outcome is not too far.

If the U.K. leaves the 28-nation bloc and negotiates a new trade deal in the mold of Canada’s, commerce with the EU may decline by $131 billion. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling citing new research from Frontier Economics and London First, a nonprofit business group that promotes the capital’s interests, he dismissed the idea that Britain can secure a better trading relationship on the outside.

Darling who served under labor prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon BrownIf, stated that if they choose to remain, they will retain their ability to shape international cooperation over development, human rights, intelligence-sharing and security, climate change, global commerce, peacekeeping, the behavior of multinational companies and working people’s rights. He added; “In a complex and fast-changing world, when the defining decisions are taken, Britain will be at the table.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Euro-skeptic Conservative lawmaker, said Obama’s interference could aid the campaign to Leave the EU. “I don’t mind him coming over to say what he wants because I think it helps Brexit,” Rees-Mogg told the House magazine, which is distributed to members of Parliament. “I can’t think the British people will want to be told what to do by a rather unsuccessful American president who has had one of the least successful foreign policies in modern history.”

Research for the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance, published on Friday, estimated that foreign direct investment in Britain could decline by 22 percent if voters choose to leave the EU, reducing incomes by about 3.4 percent. The analysis, carried out by Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco Ottaviano, Thomas Sampson and John Van Reenen, found that reduced access to the single market, complexities in coordination between headquarters and local branch offices and uncertainty over trade agreements with the EU would deter investors.

“The evidence shows that EU membership has helped substantially drive up foreign investment in the U.K.,” Van Reenen said in an e-mailed statement. “Brexit will inflict collateral damage on foreign investment, causing further losses to productivity and making us poorer as a nation.” Obama will have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle and hold a joint press conference with Cameron during his visit.

The U.K. is “one of the countries that has most shaped the modern era,” Senior Director of European Affairs Charles Kupchan said on the call. “It’s our estimate that the United Kingdom will continue to play that role most effectively if it remains part of the European Union.”