That makes no sense. If the the US and UK cars both have high number of steering lock failures there is clearly a common issue and yes, rather like we end up paying high prices compared to the States, Nissan may think we will be a soft touch on this kind of issue.
Those who have followed the issue on the US forums will see that the recall came about due to a 'campaign' by 370 owners to get the result, so that should mean Nissan doing the honorable thing here, including refunding those who have already had to shell out for the repair.