The fact that the US did it first doesn’t make it reasonable. Both policies can be bad on their own terms, and either way, the costs will almost entirely be borne by people who had nothing to do with drafting the US policy in the first place.
What is the correct solution to this problem?
That's like saying that the US was wrong to enter into WW2 because two wrongs don't make a right and war is bad therefore the US is bad.
Meanwhile, Africa is happily going in the opposite direction https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38127560