Excellent point re: cryptocurrencies tearing down barriers ...that's the ultimate goal and with the birth of bitcoin we can already do that in the digital world; hopefully the physical goods world can catch up.
I agree that other countries restricting U.S. imports (exports from the U.S.) is an issue our politicians should be tackling relentlessly...it would be one of the useful things they could do! Oddly, though, all the political rhetoric goes towards taxing U.S. consumers and restricting their choices, not towards the obvious of incentivizing other countries to permit freer trade. Extorting U.S. customers is not a moral or an effective solution to further opening trade...