Re: While I agree with your post...
>>"Their view of Europe is one where outside trade is rigorously excluded unless it follows their rules."
Well that's kind of the point of large trade blocs such as NAFTA, EU, Eurasian Economic Community and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. You band together and create double-standards that benefit you at the expense of smaller national entities that lack the economic or military might to trade with you as equals in your enlarged, multi-country state.
I.e. EU can negotiate as a powerful player against other large power blocks in a way that a small country on its own cannot. Also, I'm actually quite good with a lot of the EU rules on imported goods. We have better standards of drugs approval, food production standards, animal treatment, human rights in manufacturing, etc. These are all positives.