Timing of introduction with Panasonic seems off

A quick comparison of current Panasonic GX1 body only price at Amazon.com v Amazon.co.uk makes the UK price 10% more expensive exclusive of VAT. Add the 10% sales tax and in the US you're effectively getting it for 20% less.

I believe the new Olympus body cap lens is an even worse deal for us.

That said, it could be that import duty in the US could be less for Japanese goods than in the EU, so Panasonic don't actually benefit much from the higher EU prices.