Had the colonies already separated commercially before independence?

Had the colonies already separated commercially before independence?

Yes, in this interpretation. Roughly a century of ignoring trade rules for profit and necessary supplies amounted to conducting an independent commercial policy.

Formal political separation followed a long history of commercial evasion. Colonial merchants had ignored British rules when profit or essential supplies gave them an incentive to do so. One interpretation characterizes that activity as conducting their own foreign policy well before independence.