So the US will stop trading with the UK if it leaves the EU?
Yeah right, in the same way that the rest of Europe will do so. Mercedes and Renault will immediately stop selling their cars here; Bosche will stop selling us washing machines; Alstom will immediately withdraw from our rail and power plant markets.
What has to be borne in mind (and what is never mentioned by scaremongers) is that trade is a two way affair. Yes, we sell a lot of goods and services abroad but foreign companies d an awful lot of business here and that business will not cease just because of a small matter of the EU makes it slightly less convenient. Jobs and income in the UK depend on trade with Europe and (increasingly) the rest of the world. They are not dependent on out EU membership and we can have one without the other.
The only other institution which is independent of the EU and which is causing us problems, modeller, is the ECHR. We should have withdrawn from this long ago (in 1998, in fact, when our own Human Rights Act was passed) and the 1998 Act could be adjusted to one which best suits us instead of merely reflection the ECHR.
There needs to be a proper debate on the pros and cons of EU membership and there needs to be proper consultation with the electorate (be they ignorant or not) to determine what they want. The Prime Minister’s suggestion that there will be some sort of renegotiation of the terms of our membership is wind and puff as it will (quite rightly) have to be agreed by all the other members. Those member states who see their membership in the same light as I would view having a joint bank account with Bill Gates are unlikely to agree.
As for life beyond the EU the Lisbon Treaty specifically provides for member states leaving and also provides for trading agreements to be set up between the departing nation and the remainder of the EU. It may be inconvenient and a bit troublesome but it can be done.