And yesterday in Der Spiegel was this - accusing the yanks of piracy.
Heres a rough translation.
Berlin wanted to protect its police from the corona virus with hundreds of thousands of protective masks - but an urgently needed delivery was not received. The reason: The United States confiscated the goods in Bangkok, as Berlin's Senator for the Interior Andreas Geisel (SPD) announced.
The FFP2 class masks, which can protect against infection with the corona virus, were intended for the police of the capital, according to him. Berlin ordered and paid for them from a US company. As the "Tagesspiegel" and the RBB report, the masks were manufactured by the US manufacturer 3M in China. Official information on this is not yet available. In Bangkok, they were then redirected to the United States, the reports said.
Geisel criticized the United States' actions sharply. "We consider this an act of modern piracy," he said. "This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners. Wild West methods should not be used even in times of global crisis." The federal government must urge the United States to comply with international rules. Apparently, the confiscation of the shipment was "related to the US government's ban on mask exports," said Geisel. The United States rejects the allegations. The White House told the news portal "t-online.de" that the USA had not confiscated or taken any masks that were to be delivered to another country. A senior government official spoke of "disinformation" that was completely wrong, writes "t-online.de". When buying materials from other countries, the US went the "appropriate channels", it said.
Berlin is not alone in losing. For example, French politicians recently accused the United States of buying up protective mask supplies for China in France. So far there is no official statement from the US government. Only an anonymous government official told AFP that the accusations from France were "completely wrong". The US government has "not bought a single mask that China should deliver to France." However, Canada is also reviewing reports that U.S. orders have been stopped.