To simplify the expression, we can first distribute the negative sign to the terms inside the second parentheses:
(7x - 2) - (0.04x - 3 + 0.2x) = 7x - 2 - 0.04x + 3 - 0.2x.
Next, we can combine like terms:
(7x - 2 - 0.04x + 3 - 0.2x) = (7x - 0.04x - 0.2x) + (-2 + 3)
= 6.76x + 1.
Therefore, the simplified expression is 6.76x + 1.