The hero image for Kraft Singles on Wikipedia clearly states “Pasteurized prepared cheese product” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kraft_Singles.jpg
It is a sleight of hand that it says American, but it specifically does not say American cheese as a single phrase.
You are looking at the wrong product. This one[0] does say "American cheese" as a single phrase. And the slices are not individually wrapped, as they don't need to be.
[0]https://www.kraftheinz.com/kraft-deli-deluxe/products/000210...
Kraft Singles and their Velveeta equivalent are what is available abroad, not the Kraft Deli Deluxe. 40 percent of American households in 2019 bought Kraft Singles.
You may not like it, but it is the public face of American cheese.
I might say the 60% that didn’t buy Kraft Singles might be the public face of American cheese considering it’s the larger number?
There’s no data to suggest that actual fancier American cheese sells more than heavily marketed slices, especially since a huge chunk of the remaining population, and I would say most, is not consuming either “American cheese” or “American cheese product” with sodium citrate.
What's crazy is Europe allowing 5% non-milk-fat/vegetable fat products to be called "ice cream". Thankfully in America it has to be 10% milkfat at least.