Why would they spend billions upon billions of credits on tradelanes and Jumpgates if they had no purpose?
Why would Ageira, one of the cornerstones of Liberty, be such a massive company that spends vast sums of money keeping tradelane and jumpgate technology a secret?
The argument of Houses V other systems really fails for trade. The sheer amount of trade in House space is something that's hard to represent in Freelancer, especially when you can't leave the outer rim systems looking completely dead.
There are billions of people on single planets in the Houses. There are multiple planets.
Some of those planets rely on constant food shipments from other sources just to survive.
It's hard to under-estimate the value of tradelanes and jumpgates, they really are like the roadways of the Houses.
I'm far from saying that this embargo has done bad things for players. It's pretty damn fun to run a blockade that is actually enforced. The trade factions benefiting from it too are thriving.
It's more the roleplay flaws that leave a bad taste. H-Fuel is the lifeblood of Sirius, cutting it off is like stopping your heart.