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Is there something like the PinePhone that is manufactured in a place with substantial political freedom (however you wish to define that)?

Depending on your definition of political freedom, USA might fit: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa. It's expensive, since practically no phones are produced in USA. Alternatively, https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 has its components produced in China and assembled in USA.

Holy crap, $2000! Literally 10x the price of PinePhone. Still, that’s exactly what I was looking for; thank you!

You can buy an American-made Purism phone, which may or may not fit your definition. It's not cheap, though.