I'm just going to answer the ThinkPenguin specific questions in the initial
post and/or questions regarding out of country purchases.
There are no duties for importing laptops/desktops into Portugal. There is a
23% tax that is not advertised and specific to Portugal. It doesn't matter if
your receiving the goods from the UK or from the US. The only difference is
if the price is advertised with the VAT included or excluded. The
laptops/desktops are excluding the VAT and shipped from the United States.
The purchaser has to pay the tax on receipt of the goods.
Some countries like Brazil have a duty and that means that a person who
wished to purchase the laptop not only has to pay the normal tax within the
country, but they also have to pay an additional amount. This is what you
would refer to as a trade barrier. It costs more to purchase the goods
directly from a company overseas than to purchase indirectly through a local
merchant.
