On Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:42:44 +0000, Tim Streater wrote:

If ever the UK is ****ing stupid enough to leave the EU and not remain
within EEA or EFTA or some similar free-trade network, then UK
businesses will be non-EU businesses for the other EU/EEA/EFTA markets.
And if we stay within EEA/EFTA, there's absolutely no point in leaving
the EU.

Erm, yes there is. The clue is in the name. That is "European *Union*"
vs. "European *Free* *Trade* *Area*". We didn't sign up to, and don't
want, "ever closer union".

And you don't think that changes that apply across the whole EU will
filter to the EEA or EFTA almost immediately? Of course they will, even
if they aren't actually legally binding as part of the EEA/EFTA.

Here's a clue for you: The EU automotive emission rules, along with
pretty much all the other European standardised vehicle construction regs,
are now legally binding in Australia, Russia and most other countries
outside the immediate spheres of influence of Japan or the US. And even
they're getting ever closer to the EU regs. Quite simply, they've
realised that they're ****ing in the wind trying to do anything else. The
world is a small place now.

And lets not have any twaddle about how Norway has to implement all the
EU rules anyway. It may have to in order to access the Common Market,
but that's another story.

And what would be the point in being an EEA or EFTA member and not
"accessing the common market"?

The main difference is that none are (currently) part of the EU single
VAT market. If the UK left that, it would just mean an extra layer of
bureaucracy for anybody trying to trade between the UK and the EU.

Unless, of course, you think that post-BrExit UK would ditch the current
VAT framework for something different...?