Well the items banned were all food type products which have no domestic (indeed north american) equivalents. While the regulations may be over exacting, there are no competition issues.
I am familiar with Iberico pork products from Spain and it is a real shame. The pigs are forest fed and naturally cured. However, the article is misleading as it does not point out that the US would permit import of these hams if curing facilites met higher sanitary standards as utilized by other run of the mill producers. Undoing the ban is merely a matter of cost as Iberico ham has an extremely small luxury market and the facilities and inspections are cost prohibitive.
The section on raw milk cheese is wrong. The US does import and permit the sale of raw milk cheese - it must be that particular product.
I do not know about the specifics about the other products but there appears to be no parrallel with soft wood. With soft wood, there is a commercial aspect as I understand it.