REGARDING the letter from Dr Hurst on November 11.

We needn’t fear losing trade if we leave the EU.

The EU’s supporters play the fear card, but it’s not inevitable our exports will suffer (Switzerland, not an EU-member, exports more per head than the UK to the EU, and the rest of the world trades with the EU).

As the EU exports far more to us than we do to it, there is minimal chance of the EU imposing significant trade barriers if we leave - they wouldn’t want to risk their sales to us.

Heads of large businesses such as General Electric, General Motors UK (Vauxhall) and JCB have all recently said leaving the EU would not be a problem.

An independent Britain would gain the freedom to forge trade deals in its own interests instead of having to wait for the cumbersome EU machinery.

Tiny Iceland has signed deals with China, but the EU continues to talk, and isn’t even talking with India at the moment.

Eighty-three per cent of the UK economy does not export to the EU, and would benefit from reduced regulatory costs (currently applied to the whole of our economy) if we leave the EU.

Exporting companies are used to complying with specific rules for different markets and this would be no different.

W Elphinston Northwich