Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,138
Likes: 6,361
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
As Click and Clack said, Americans don't care if their brakes work, as long as they don't squeal. And Europeans don't care if their brakes squeal, as long as they work. You could think of the squealing as a feature, warning others of your presence.
Folks have already offered many solutions. Filing the backs of the pads is OK but takes some trouble. Instead, I bend. Keep a list of bendable and non-bendable calipers if you like. Weinmann and MAFAC are on the bendable list.