LONDON — British lawmakers long at loggerheads over the path to withdrawing from the European Union actually came close to agreeing on something Monday: a solution known as a “customs union.”

What is it?

Simply put, it would entail Britain’s agreeing to stay permanently in a customs union with the bloc — a “soft Brexit,” of sorts.

What is a customs union?

The customs union being proposed in Parliament by a former Conservative chancellor, Ken Clarke, would keep the United Kingdom in the same tariff system as the European Union countries.