Even if I assume that these governments are retaliating against each other in bad faith, the fact that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic would cert

Even if I assume that these governments are retaliating against each other in bad faith, the fact that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic would certainly give them the justification for their behavior. Once COVID became irrelevant (instead of endemic, which is beginning to look increasingly likely), then that justification is no longer valid.