The president says the VAT system used across Europe gives other countries unfair trade advantages. Here’s how the system started.

President Trump on Thursday directed federal agencies to study reciprocal tariffs aimed at matching taxes and other economic barriers used by trade partners. His newly issued memorandum cited value-added taxes,

While a sales tax is paid in full by the consumer at the point of sale, a value-added tax is collected as the product moves through the supply chain. To borrow an example from The