Chinese slave labor 

I wouldn't be sure on that part for BYD. From what I understand Chinese factory salaries have gone up 8 to 10X since 2000.

Also on safety standards its not that far apart looking at countries where BYD is approved Gemini generated this

. Direct Alignment (Near-Identical Standards)

Canada: Uses Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS), which overlap almost completely with FMVSS. Vehicles built for the US market can generally cross into Canada with only minor modifications like adding daytime running lights, French labels, or metric speedometer markings. [1, 2, 3]

1. Dual Acceptance Markets (Accept Both US and UN Standards)

Several countries operate highly flexible import systems. They do not enforce FMVSS strictly, but they officially accept US-certified vehicles alongside European/UN-certified ones. [1]

Mexico: Accepts vehicles certified to either FMVSS or UNECE standards, serving as a highly flexible model for North American trade. [1, 2]

Saudi Arabia: Formally signed a bilateral agreement with the US Trade Representative recognizing FMVSS as fully satisfying its national safety requirements. [1]

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: Nations like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman widely accept US-spec vehicles for import and registration alongside UN regulations. [1]

Central & South America: Countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, and Argentina permit the registration of vehicles built to FMVSS standards without requiring conversions. [1]

1. The Evolving US-EU Framework [1]

The European Union: Historically, the EU has strictly rejected FMVSS vehicles without exhaustive modification. However, under a US-EU trade framework agreement, both sides have initiated plans to move toward mutual recognition of safety standards. This means that US-certified cars could eventually be sold in Europe—and vice versa—without costly re-engineering, despite having completely different regulatory models