[bilbo0s]

I don't know that I would throw that paint on the entire West.

Is there a completely justifiable reluctance to give blanket credence to answers to technical questions given by American authorities? Absolutely, and as an intellectually honest American I'm big enough to admit that we earned that skepticism all by ourselves. The decision making apparatus of the US and its major industrial sectors have been saturated with so many ideological type people that it can no longer be depended upon to reliably answer certain questions in general.

That does not necessarily mean that EU authorities are not reliable. European regulatory authorities still have their acts together for the most part. Technical responses free of political influence can be found given technical questions. Are there issues in the EU? Yes, but in my experience, the issues are nothing like what you see in the US or China.