[psiconaut]

Without wanting to enter into ideological debate too much, it seems a contradiction to invoke such rules when precisely the country we're talking about has boosted their GDP by selling products that capitalized on the effective minimization of borders in the information age.

What I mean is: maybe it's not about protecting "their" humans (from what, exactly?), but protecting "their" corporations. Which is a very different goal.

[jimkleiber]

Very possible. Most import tariffs and bans are to protect national industry. Still a "our humans are more important than yours" division of the world.

But yes, countries who impose import restrictions often don't want others to impose them.