UPDATE Dug out the OWE star file and lo-and-behold, I was right: the USD 75/ticket re-issue fee was inapplicable before the first segment has been flown if the originating segment is outside North America.

A call to AA's RTW desk confirmed this.

What a shocker that neither AA's LHR ticket desk nor the European tarriff dept (based in Dublin, I'm told) knew correct procedure. I could understand it if I was dealing with a minor station on the network.

It shouldn't be for a customer to tell them what's in the rules