Berlin officials say 200,000 masks have been diverted to the US under a law invoked by Donald Trump.
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Coronavirus: US accused of ‘piracy’ over mask ‘confiscation’
The US has been accused of redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use, in a move condemned as "modern piracy".
The local government in Berlin said the shipment of US-made masks was "confiscated" in Bangkok.
The FFP2 masks, which were ordered by Berlin's police force, did not reach their destination, it said.
Andreas Geisel, Berlin's interior minister, said the masks were presumably diverted to the US.
The US company that makes the masks, 3M, has been prohibited from exporting its medical products to other countries under a Korean-War-era law invoked by President Donald Trump.
On Friday, Mr Trump said he was using the Defence Production Act to demand that US firms provide more medical supplies to meet domestic demand.
"We need these items immediately for domestic use. We have to have them," Mr Trump said at the daily Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the White House.
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'Significant humanitarian implications'
In a separate development, 3M said the Trump administration had asked it to stop exporting US-made N95 respirator masks to Canada and Latin America.
The request had "significant humanitarian implications", the company warned, and could prompt other countries to act in kind.
The company says it manufactures about 100 million N95 masks per month - about a third are made in the US, and the rest produced overseas.
President Trump said he had used the Defence Production Act to "hit 3M hard", without providing additional details. The law dates back to 1950 and allows a president to force companies to make products for national defence.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Friday that "it would be a mistake to create blockages or reduce trade".