I don’t get why they would bother with this, isn’t showcasing american prosperity/excess to foreign dignitaries part of america’s soft power? I really don’t see the downside of having diplomats buying a bunch of american crap to send home, if anything it just helps spread american products to new markets and gets their foot in the door with the ruling classes of various nations

To me this just looks like a petty punitive measure that’s just kind of embarrassing on america’s part