Senior government figures are reported to be planning to put Britain on the path towards a Swiss-style relationship with the European Union.
The Times says the move, intended to forge closer economic ties, is likely to infuriate hardline Conservative Brexiteers.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week signalled that Rishi Sunak's administration intends to break from the approach adopted by Boris Johnson and remove the vast majority of trade barriers with the bloc.
In private, senior government sources have suggested that pursuing frictionless trade requires moving towards a Swiss-style relationship over the next decade.
However, they insist this would not extend to a return to freedom of movement.
"It's obviously something the EU would never offer us upfront because they would say you are trying to have your cake and eat it, but the reason I think we will get it is because it is overwhelmingly in the businesses interests on both sides," one said.
European single market
Switzerland has access to the European single market through a series of bilateral agreements.
However, the model also involves more liberal EU migration, and payments to the EU budget, with the bloc in recent years also pushing for the European Court of Justice to have greater oversight in the relationship.
The Swiss have frequently debated restricting free movement from the bloc, but in the most recent referendum opted to keep it.
These are all red lines for members of the rebellious European Research Group - a group within the Parliamentary Conservative Party
It was also an approach that Mr Johnson and Lord Frost, his chief Brexit negotiator, ruled out when they drew up the UK's negotiating mandate in 2020.
But ministers are confident that the EU's approach to relations with the UK is thawing as the continent faces the challenges caused by soaring inflation and the conflict in Ukraine.
Making changes
"I think we will be doing everything we can proactively within our power to make changes to improve things when it comes to the EU," one source told the Times.
"The bigger picture on this is the EU seeing something which they weren't expecting - which is massive support for European security from the UK with respect to Ukraine and they can see we are serious about being sensible grown-ups with the biggest military in Europe doing our bit.
"I think there is a very good way through this with more trust that we were ever going to have with either Boris Johnson or Liz Truss."
However the Tory Brexiteers are fiercely opposed to any move that risks returning the UK closer to the EU's regulatory orbit.
Lord Frost said: "Any approach requiring the UK to align with EU rules to get trade benefits, whether as part of a Swiss-style approach or any other, would be quite unacceptable.
"Boris Johnson and I fought very hard to avoid any such requirements in 2020 and ensure the UK could set its own laws, and we should not contemplate giving this away in future."
Last week, Mr Hunt rejected the prospect of rejoining the single market, but backed working to strengthen Britain's relationship with Brussels.
The UK Government yesterday denied that senior officials want to move to a Swiss-style relationship with the EU.
A spokesman called the story "categorically untrue".