That's not what the government or the EU are doing. Allow me to give you a very short primer in three tweets: what is a Customs Union, the Single Market, a Free Trade Agreement. Bonus tweet: what is the UK negotiating. (Thread)
https://twitter.com/johnredwood/status/1319032404464553984
What is a Customs Union? A CU abolishes internal tariffs and introduces a common external tariff, so that all members have the same external tariffs (The WTO lists 18 CUs, 4 concern the EU. Others are, e.g. SACU)
What is the single merket, also referred to as the internal market or the common market? It allows free movement of goods, services and workers. To do that it provides for some harmonization and, vitally, for mutual recognition of rules (the EU, to some extent NZ-Australia)
What is a Free Trade Agreement? The WTO (in an article whose name shall not be mentioned) states that it's two or more territories getting together and eliminating internal duties and other restrictive regulations of commerce on substantially all trade.
The negotiating goal between the EU and the UK is an FTA. Not a CU. Not the SM.
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