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Maybe that applying VAT to imports is done asymmetrically? If, for example, I'm a US citizen importing a european widget, will federal and state sales tax be applied on import?

If they're not, then this might be why they're considered thus.

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Uhh... Whether you're a citizen isn't a factor. There's no federal sales tax, although these tariffs act as an import tax that will increase the wholesale costs. And state sales taxes don't apply to imports or wholesale transactions, they are retail tax (or also often a use tax if a sales tax wasn't previously imposed).

VAT is not only a retail sales tax, it'll apply anytime the widget is somehow modified (value is added).

Not really, because the point of tariffs is that they apply only to imported goods, creating a preference for local ones. If VAT is applied equally to imported and local goods it's not a tariff, it's a tax that consumers pay in any case.

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