The UK government has proposed creating a single market for goods with the European Union as the centrepiece of efforts to deepen post-Brexit trade ties, with Cabinet Office official Michael Ellam presenting the idea during recent visits to Brussels. EU officials are said to have rebuffed the proposal, suggesting alternatives such as a customs union or membership of the European Economic Area (EEA, a 30-country single market bloc) — both of which fall outside Prime Minister Keir Starmer's stated red lines, as they would require accepting free movement of people or rejoining structures he has ruled out in his lifetime. The two sides are still working toward a summit tentatively scheduled for 13 July, where they hope to finalise agreements on food and agricultural trade, linked emissions trading schemes, and a youth mobility programme, deals that the UK government says could add up to £9 billion a year to the economy by 2040.