Berlin's radical decision that may leave the US without Germany's billions. What happens to the national treasury in the face of Trump's unpredictability

Berlin is facing unprecedented domestic pressure to withdraw the 1,236 tonnes of gold from New York. As the government in Berlin avoids a radical decision, economists warn that the 164 billion euro reserves are no longer safe under Donald Trump's administration, according to The Guardian.

Germany, which holds the world's second largest national gold reserve after the US, is facing growing demands to withdraw its hoard from US vaults amid changing transatlantic relations and the unpredictability of Donald Trump.

The message from the economists in Berlin is categorical: “Repatriate the gold” because storing such a large amount in the US has become “risky”. Experts fear the US president could use foreign assets as leverage in trade negotiations

Currently, approximately 1,236 tons of gold, valued at €164 billion, are stored in vaults in New York, representing the central stake of these repatriation requests. Germany's total gold reserves are worth almost 450 billion euros.

Emanuel Mönch, a renowned economist and former head of research at Germany's federal bank, the Bundesbank, explained to the Handelsblatt daily why this huge amount should be withdrawn: “In the interest of greater strategic independence, the institution would do well to consider repatriation. Given the current geopolitical situation, it seems risky to store such a large amount in the US.”

Although Stefan Kornelius, a spokesman for Friedrich Merz's government, recently said that the repatriation of reserves is not currently being considered, Emanuel Mönch is part of a growing group of experts who see the measure as essential for Germany's strategic independence from the US.

“Our gold is no longer safe”

“Trump is unpredictable and does everything to generate revenue. That's why our gold is no longer safe in the Fed vaults,” said Michael Jäger, president of the European Taxpayers' Association (TAE) and the German Taxpayers' Association.

“What will happen if the Greenland challenge continues? The risk that the German Bundesbank will no longer be able to access its gold is increasing. It should therefore repatriate its reserves,” he continued. Jäger also said that since last year he has sent official memos to the Bundesbank and the Ministry of Finance, demanding that the authorities “bring the gold home”

Until recently, the gold issue was the main prerogative of the far-right AfD party, which has repeatedly called for the return of the gold for patriotic reasons. But this topic has gone beyond the marginal sphere, becoming a central theme in public and political debates in Germany, writes The Guardian.

Katharina Beck, the Bundestag's Green opposition finance spokeswoman, also spoke in favor of relocating gold bars, calling them “an important factor of stability and confidence” that “must not become pawns in geopolitical disputes”.

Official assurances: “There is no reason to panic”

However, Clemens Fuest, president of the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) and one of the country's most prominent economists, warned against such a move, saying it could lead to unintended consequences and “would only pour gas on the fire of the current situation,” he told the Rheinische Post.

Last October, at the autumn meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel assured participants that there was “no cause for concern” about German gold held at the US Federal Reserve.

And Frauke Heiligenstadt, spokeswoman for the parliamentary financial policy group of the Social Democrats, the government's junior partners, said that while she understood concerns about gold reserves, there was no need to panic.

“Germany's gold reserves are well diversified,” she said. As half of these are in Frankfurt, “our ability to act is guaranteed”. Holding gold in New York makes sense, she added, because “Germany, Europe and the US are closely linked in terms of financial policy.”

But amid Trump's increasingly tough rhetoric toward his Western partners, a growing number of Merz's Christian Democrats have come out in favor of resettlement. “Because of the Trump administration, the US is no longer a reliable partner,” Ulrike Neyer, professor of economics at the University of Düsseldorf, told the Rheinische Post.

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