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Report: UK considering post-Brexit customs union deal with EU

Advisers of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May are "secretly considering" a deal that would keep Britain in the EU customs union for goods after leaving the bloc, the Financial Times reported, citing three officials with knowledge of the "live" discussions.

The customs union plan was one option being studied, an official close to May confirmed, according to the report. Under such a scheme, the U.K. would maintain the common external tariff on goods implemented by the EU to reduce bureaucracy at the border.

While a customs union plan would prevent Britain from negotiating its own trade deals on goods with other countries, senior British officials believe that such a plan may limit the loss of trade with the EU post-Brexit, the report said.

In an interview with Sky News during her trade trip to China, May insisted that the U.K. will leave the EU customs union and negotiate a free-trade deal with the bloc.

Trade Secretary Liam Fox also rejected the idea of staying in the customs union, saying such a move is incompatible with having an independent trade policy for the U.K.

"We have to be outside of that to take advantage of those growing markets. One of the reasons we are leaving the European Union is to take control and that's not possible with a common external tariff," Fox told Bloomberg News.