In the US, the term "VAT" as it is used in the UK and in many other countries, has never been used, and I don’t see it being applied now that the orange one has declared the new much higher tariffs. The added cost is kept under the table where the consumer never sees it as such. Instead, the retail price just goes up enough to compensate the importer/distributor for the cost of the tariff. A big difference is that if I shop in the UK, and if I produce my passport or other proof of US citizenship, then I would not have to pay the VAT. (At least that is the way it works in Tokyo; Japan also has a VAT. That charge is deducted when I produce my passport.) The same does not apply here for a tariff. Anyone purchasing goods in the US, regardless of citizenship, would be per se paying any added cost related to a tariff. The VAT is a tax levied only at the time of purchase. The tariff is a tax paid at the point of importation into the market where the item will be sold.
