Yeah, software is way easier to manage over borders than hardware - they already do that with their different App Stores. The comparison to USBC isn’t valid.

However, I wonder if it would be easy enough to trick your device into thinking it’s somewhere else. Recently had to download an app from the US App Store (I am Canadian) and all it took was creating a new account and declaring my country as USA. If it was that easy, I’m sure plenty of people would be happy enough making an alt Apple ID for side loading.