I believe the UK will be much better off by remaining a member of the EU, but I agree with some of the comments in the letter from Richard Samways (Absence of facts, May 4).

Richard says he believes strongly in being governed solely by the British Parliament, with all its faults, and the legal institutions of this country.

However I am very concerned about the type of society we will be living in outside of the EU and that in practice we won’t be able to control our own future.

One the one hand, we are increasingly powerless in our relationship with China- they are funding (and in future will be building) our nuclear power stations and our new 5G mobile phone network, both with huge security risks.

Also the national press reported yesterday that ‘Government risks a repeat of Huawei 5G scandal by approaching Chinese state firms to build the controversial HS2 train line.’

On the other hand international trade is highly complex.

I fear the UK’s trade policy will lead us to a race to the bottom.

As one example, our current proposals are to slash import tariffs on beef from South America, which will effectively put UK beef farmers out of business, regardless of our higher animal welfare standards compared to intensive cattle farming in some other countries.

As a minimum I hope we can compromise on remaining a trading partner with the EU as a permanent member of the Customs Union.

With 50% of UK exports currently going to the EU, leaving the trading block would be a disaster.

PETE WEST

Salisbury Street

Dorchester