Coronavirus: Germany, France accuse Americans of mask ‘piracy’, dirty tricks

A fundamental lack of trust between the US and Europe risks hampering efforts to collectively tackle the damage unleashed by the pandemic

With hundreds of their citizens dying each day, the degree of suspicion also feeds into a narrative that it’s every nation out for itself

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A mask lays on a street in the city of Nice, southern France. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:47am, 4 Apr 2020Updated: 9:48pm, 4 Apr 2020

The scarcity of safety equipment essential to the coronavirus fight is fuelling tensions between long-time transatlantic allies, with local officials in France and Germany accusing unnamed Americans of using unfair means to obtain protective masks.

Berlin’s state interior ministry blamed the US for confiscating 200,000 masks ordered from a US producer when they were in transit through Bangkok. French officials have accused unidentified Americans of paying over the odds to secure masks in China that had already been earmarked for France.

The US embassy in Paris said any suggestion that the federal government was involved in such practices was “completely false.” There was no immediate response the allegations from the White House or the State Department.

“We view this as an act of modern piracy,” Berlin Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said. “You cannot act in such a way among transatlantic partners. Such wild west methods can’t dominate, even in a time of global crisis.”

Dr Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, holds a 3M N95 mask as Vice President Mike Pence looks on. Photo: AP

With hundreds of their citizens dying each day, the incidents highlight the fundamental distrust between the US and Europe. It risks hampering efforts to collectively tackle the damage unleashed by a virus that has brought the world’s economy to a standstill.

The degree of suspicion also feeds into a narrative that it’s every nation out for itself as Europeans are also viewing with greater scepticism offers of help from Russia and China, wondering if there are strings attached.