Can anyone explain why trading with another country/bloc means signing up to their rules about anything? Surely individual importers/exporters can buy and sell to each other without restrictive trade deals?
In terms of the rules and regulations: anyone who wants to sell ANYTHING to the EU has to sign up to their rules, period. No choice about it, it's a legal requirement. But of course currently we get a say in how those rules are made, and are often able to change them. A good example here: Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall fish fight. He managed to mobilise campaigners around the world, but it was the British MEPs who spear-headed the debate in Brussels and WON.
It's the same with selling to other countries outside the EU by the way. Japan for example impose incredibly strict rules and high tariffs on anyone wanting to sell anything there. Others are less extreme, but all impose rules and import tariffs. The UK would have to negotiate its own deals with pretty much everyone, and in today's climate I doubt we'd get as favourable terms as say Switzerland, who has had various trade agreements in place for decades.
Import duties are a huge reason why free trade within the EU is so important. I'll try to explain from the point of view of someone running a small business, selling goods online. We're based in the UK as are the majority of our customers, but a significant portion of our sales goes to the EU, and all around the world.
Customers in Norway and Switzerland have to pay import duties on purchases from the EU, above a certain amount (I believe the limit is less than £100), same as customers in say the US or Russia. An item that costs a customer in the UK or rest of the EU £100 ends up costing a Norwegian customer £125. This is despite all the trade agreements between Norway and the EU. Norwegian consumers don't benefit from free trade to the same extent as within the EU. Same with customers in Switzerland. We are often asked if we could send parcels to these countries as "a private gift" which would of course be fraud.
As a result, it's much harder for a small business like ours to sell to these countries. Everything is also MUCH more expensive in both Norway and Switzerland. I've been to both countries.
If Brexit happens then my little business will almost certainly lose a large portion of our EU customers, as import duties will simply make it too unattractive to purchase goods from the UK. It would be a double whammy, because we'd also risk having to pay import duties on the goods that we buy in from EU manufacturers, meaning that our prices would increase even to UK customers. This is why isolationism causes inflation.
If Brexit happens, then the little business that I've built up, and which employs 3 people besides myself (all mums working flexible hours, two with no other source of family income) would have to fold. I'm lucky that DH earns a good salary so we'll be ok, but I'd feel very bad for the others. I've worked very hard over a number of years to build something worthwhile (although I only take a minimum wage from it myself) but I just don't see how we could keep going after Brexit.