It might even be argued that the de facto mandatory nature of their standards constitute a form of (international) competitiveness, because their prices sure aren't just trivial to particularly smaller businesses.

Especially when you take into account that in other economies (outside the USA), their prices can be downright show-stoppers.

But then, it isn't particularly a new thing for larger economies to abuse standards and intellectual property regulations, to "compete" with smaller economies in ways that diametrically oppose the supposed (or at least often hailed) purpose and goals of both standards and intellectual property regulations.

ISO exists at the whim of the sovereign entities. You are most likely a citizen of one (or perhaps even more) of the entities that ensure ISO continues to exist, and could ask them to get ISO to give away the standards documents.

Of course if the money does not come from ISO selling documents, it would need to come from tax revenue. In reality however it was scheduled the real money comes from the richest countries, as they're most able to afford it, your politicians may have the opinion that even a modest sum expended in this way would be justified by their opponents as profligate...

Yes!! Why do these things even cost money to begin with? It's like they want people to not follow the standards.