I'd say "almost no economic sense". It's an extremely crude application of the symmetric trade predictions made by the Gravity Model of trade (which is generally very accurate).

In a way, the problem is more that they ascribe responsibility for "non-tariff barriers" entirely to the foreign country, when the largest non-tariff barrier to balanced trade is the dollar's reserve currency status.

Foreigners are willing to sell their real stuff to get our fiat money, while Americans aren't interested in doing the inverse.