TBF, if you don't expect a Weirauch, you won't be disappointed. They're often price point guns; and you have to be lucky to get a truly high-performance price pointer.
May have just sold one of these! Future article idea:get a couple of these cheap air rifles, and see how accurate they are with cheap pellets.
Something like Ultimate Cheapie Can Killers, maybe?
Americans usually are the ones owning guns capable of really taking advantage of slugs.
If all you can but without licensing is a low-power .177, are you going to care about slugs?
Different situation though. In the 1930s, US was the #1 industrial producer in the world. 1800s would probably be a better comparison. US trying to build industry, especially in strategic sectors.
Really low-cost labor in Southern Europe. If they're using a facility for manufacturing that was grandfathered in long enough ago, regulatory compliance might also be a lot cheaper.
Honestly Doc, even just a $40 "Winchester" 4x AO would be an upgrade from most package scopes. You can eliminate parallax at usual shooting ranges, even if the markings on the objective don't accurately correspond with actual distance.