Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
You're basically giving the reasons why the UK leaving the EU is such folly, but here's my response.

Free trade with hundreds of millions. Freedom to live, work and study in Europe. I reckon that, whatever we lost on financially from Westminster would be more than made up in EU grants to improve infrastructure and make Wales a better place to do business and create jobs. Instead of an insular island that thinks it is a world leader, we'd be a part of something much bigger.

If there was independence, I reckon it wouldn't be a hard independence like some want for the UK from the EU. I think that if Wales and Scotland were both independent and were members of the EU, England would have to rethink its relationship with the EU. However, there would be something quite poetic about English people needing visas to come and live, work and holiday in Wales!
I don't disagree with the bit in bold, its why we should have remained in the EU. However, taking on board the hard Brexit we are about to experience, all the reasons given for the UK to stay in the EU (free market at its door, freedom of movement with its largest trading partner) would then apply to Wales if we were to leave the UK.

Whether you like it or not, our largest trading partner by far is England, and if England is outside of the EU then the benefits of remaining, for Wales at least, would be tiny compared to being part of the UK. If we joined the EU for free trade, we'd have tariffs, customs, duties and excise on any trade with England. Are we really advocating going into a trade war with the English - lets remember, what we export is miniscule from their point of view.