I worried about that from the very beginning.
this is duty, the tax of importing stuff. it usually varies across product cateogories, some have low or no duties, others have very high ones, its really a matter of negotiation (thats what they do at those world trade summits). in theory, the EU is a customs union, so duties should be universal across all countries, but over here its never quite as it seems.
I should also add that its not some european thingy, but duties have been in existance ... well, I cant tell, but for a very long time. people apparently got so used to globalisation that the idea of paying extra fees just because the origin is another coutry sounds strange. it used to be - and still is - mainly a political issue, countries want to advocate low duties for goods they export a lot and high duties for goods they import a lot, for both cash and industry protectionist reasons. US steel duties or EU food policy would be examples of how they are employed. with TRIPS we might see a lowering of game and software duties, but alas, its not that far along yet.
with that I go back to waiting for my package to arrive and praying that my country made a good deal, so I dont have to pay so much.
