Customs officer implied I bought too much and made comments that I shouldn’t do it again. I thought there was no limit to how much you can bring in; you just have to pay taxes over $800 which I was prepared for. Who was right?

Came back to the US from a month in Japan, brought back a ton of stuff and declared $4k in souvenirs/personal goods. The most expensive item was $230, so a huge accumulation of low cost items. Most things were under $30-50 individually. Anyway. I declared at MSP re-entry.

They were being extremely strict on everyone and pulling everyone who brought back more than $800 in souvenirs/goods. The border officer seemed pissed off that I brought back so much stuff and he didn’t straight up say “You can’t do that again” but he made several comments emphasizing I’m way over the “limit” and telling me I need to reconsider this for all future travel, implying that I shouldn’t do this again. I told him I was happy to pay any tax, and after showing him all of my receipts and the category of spend breakdown he let me go with just a “warning” since he said I kept good records and was honest.

Has something changed? My understanding is I was well within my rights to bring back what I did, especially since I declared, and I was prepared to pay the 3% tax. Is this just a new tactic? Why would they not want us to bring things back where they can just charge us the tax since it makes money for the US? I didn’t received any type of formal warning letter so I’m guessing I’m ok, but I’m wondering if I have notes on my file now and how serious I should take this “warning”.