BERLIN: Germany is facing renewed calls to withdraw its billions of euros’ worth of gold from US vaults, driven by shifts in transatlantic relations and the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump.
Germany holds the world’s second-largest national gold reserves after the US, with approximately €164 billion (£122 billion) — or 1,236 tonnes — stored in New York.
Emanuel Mönch, a leading economist and former head of research at Germany’s Bundesbank, said the gold should be brought home, describing it as too “risky” to remain in the US under the current administration, according to The Guardian.
“Given the current geopolitical situation, it seems risky to store so much gold in the US,” Mönch told the financial newspaper Handelsblatt. “In the interest of greater strategic independence from the US, the Bundesbank would therefore be well advised to consider repatriating the gold.”
However, Stefan Kornelius, spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government, said that withdrawing the gold reserves is not currently under consideration.
Mönch is among a growing number of economists and financial experts who argue that returning the gold aligns with Germany’s push for greater strategic independence in recent months.
Michael Jäger, head of the European Taxpayers Association (TAE) and the Association of German Taxpayers, also advocated repatriation, citing concerns over US policy, including its expressed interest in Greenland.
“Trump is unpredictable and he does everything to generate revenue. That’s why our gold is no longer safe in the Fed’s vaults,” Jäger told the Rheinische Post. “What happens if the Greenland provocation continues? … The risk is increasing that the German Bundesbank will no longer be able to access its gold. Therefore, it should repatriate its reserves.”
Jäger said he had written last year to the Bundesbank and finance ministry urging the gold’s return.
Until recently, the call to bring back the reserves was largely championed by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) for patriotic reasons. However, it has increasingly entered mainstream discourse.
Katharina Beck, finance spokesperson for the opposition Greens in the Bundestag, said relocating the gold bars was essential, calling them an “important anchor of stability and trust” that “must not become pawns in geopolitical disputes.”
Conversely, Clemens Fuest, president of the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo), warned such a move could have unintended consequences and “only pour oil on the fire of the current situation,” according to the Rheinische Post.
Germany’s total gold reserves are worth nearly €450 billion. Just over half are held at the Bundesbank in Frankfurt, 37% at the US Federal Reserve in New York, and 12% at the Bank of England in London, a global hub for gold trading. The Bundesbank says it regularly audits its holdings.
Speaking at the IMF autumn meetings in Washington last October, Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel reassured attendees there was “no cause for concern” over German gold held at the Fed.
Frauke Heiligenstadt, financial policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats, noted that Germany’s reserves are well diversified. “Our ability to act is guaranteed,” she said. She added that keeping gold in New York makes sense due to close financial ties between Germany, Europe, and the US.
Nonetheless, amid Trump-era rhetoric and hardening stances toward western allies, more members of Chancellor Merz’s Christian Democrats are backing repatriation.
“Due to the Trump administration, the US is no longer a reliable partner,” Ulrike Neyer, economics professor at the University of Düsseldorf, told the Rheinische Post.
