Consider it be one of your closest friends and you really want to give him something very thoughtful and meaningful and would impress him/her a lot.

It would depend on the friend and their interests; can’t see that me being an American and them not would be part of the equation.

You can get an M-80 grenade launcher pretty cheap at the Army Surplus Store. Or, how about a nice 8 X 10 glossy of a smiling George W. Bush ?

Since it’s someone who is considered a close friend, it depends upon their interests. Here are some items I have taken or sent to my SO, his family, and neighbors and why.
* Girl Scout cookies for the SO that keeps reading about them and has never tasted one.
* Twinkies (see above)
* Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups‘S-Peanut-Butter-Cups-Miniatures (see above)
* Candy Corn (see above)
* Snyder’s Pretzels because he assumed that Americans only eat soft pretzels that are often found in airports.
* Listerine Breath Strips This was unintentional. There were some in my backpack, and the first time the SO tried one, the impact caught him off-guard. He took the rest to work where all of these grown men working in a factory had fun trying it out with no explanation on the front end. It was the novelty factor.
* An Elvis Presley Swivel Clock I took it over to be a gag gift for under the Christmas tree, and it ended up being fought over by several family members. That man may be dead, but he is still worshiped by many non-Americans.
* A good friend requested that I bring a pair of jeans, an American band t-shirt (for her DJ son), some Star Wars figurines, and a couple of specific bracelet charms that she either couldn’t find in her area or were much cheaper in the US.

When my British bloke came to the US for the first time to meet my family, he brought marmite, Cadbury’s chocolate bars, Coleman’s English mustard, and digestive biscuits. ~10 of us gathered around the table sampling this English staples. It was a hit.

Depends on the friend. Depends on the country.

I have friends in Japan. When I would travel there I would bring things that were uniquely US. Depending upon the person, I’ve given:
US made multi-tool (not the Chinese knock-offs for sale everywhere )
Old Tintype photographs of long past Americans dressed in their late 1800s finery. I purchased one lot of them at an ancient antique market in Springwater NY. Many of them were falling apart but the ones that survived were so interesting!
Food items, of course.
US Boy scout patches.
T shirts made for local festivals: Wayland Potato Festival. Hilton Apple Festival.
A jacket from the local ambulance service.
Supplies from the local farm store. (I gave some people livestock castration rings and asked them to figure out what they were. Funny!)
etc.

Used, authentic items that take thought are appreciated much more than new items made in another country.

A good Kentucky bourbon or a nice bottle of wine from Napa are always good options for drinkers.

Thanks guys for all the amazing answers, that’s a lot and good to know! :b

I thought of more.
I gave out Smith and Wesson, a popular handgun manufacturer established in 1852, logo pins since they were made in USA. They were very much appreciated since they were so unique.