There is an interesting article (HERE) about trade, comparing the trade we do with Europe and trade with other countries. It's interesting to note how Brexiteers kept talking about how the share of our trade with EU countries (about 44%) was falling while non-EU trade (56%) was rising. The article makes the point that we do more trade with The Netherlands than we do with the entire Commonwealth, for example. It also makes it clear that EU trade was falling temporarily because the Euro zone had slowed after the financial crisis, something which is now changing (see this article HERE from InFacts)
But what Brexiteers also seem to miss is that 44% of our trade was with a single, integrated market , something that the rest of the world is definitely not. It is highly fragmented with all sorts of different rules and regulations and so much more difficult to penetrate. And after the EU, the next biggest market is the USA (about 12%) followed by China with less than 5% of our trade. This can be looked at as an opportunity - and it is - but no one knows if we can take the opportunity or how long it might be before we do. This is a very high risk strategy.
The EU will not be happy to see the UK as a route for cheap goods from the rest of the world into Europe without tariffs so Rules of Origin will have to apply to everything we sell into the EU. I also do not believe they will be happy to see us buying parts or materials from Europe in order to export to to the rest of the world - at the expense of the EU's own overseas markets. This is especially if we undercut the social model in terms of working regulations or the environment.
