Germany stores nearly €200 billion in gold reserves in the United States, but now there are renewed calls to send this gold back to Germany. Free Democrats (FDP) politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has ignited a debate over Germany’s economic sovereignty, calling for the immediate repatriation of German gold reserves currently held in the United States.

She argues that the present geopolitical climate makes foreign storage a liability.

Germany’s gold reserves in the United States, valued at approximately €194 billion, are partially held abroad for historical reasons. However, Strack-Zimmermann believes that relying on American custody is no longer a safe strategy.

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“At a time of growing global uncertainty and under President Trump’s unpredictable US policies, it is no longer justifiable that around 37 percent of Germany’s gold reserves, more than 1,230 tons, are stored in Federal Reserve vaults in New York,” the chair of the Defense Committee in the European Parliament told Spiegel magazine.

The central concern raised is the distinction between legal ownership and physical access. Strack-Zimmermann contends that the inability to exercise direct control over these assets during international crises is a “growing risk.”

“Against this background, I call on the German government to present a clear timetable for the complete return of German gold reserves to Germany as soon as possible,“ she stated.

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Beyond the physical transfer of the gold, the FDP politician is calling for a rigorous investigation into the risks of offshore storage. She insists that the Bundesbank and the Ministry of Finance are “obliged to present a transparent risk assessment that presents political and legal risks of foreign storage in a differentiated manner.”

Furthermore, she is pushing for the issue to be elevated to the highest level of domestic politics. 

“The Bundestag must discuss the future of our reserves and ensuring our economic independence in a special session,” Strack-Zimmermann stated.

Other countries, such as Italy, also have activist politicians and organizations demanding that their countries repatriate their gold from the U.S.

The economic commentator Enrico Grazzini recently told the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper that “leaving 43% of Italy’s gold reserves in America under the unreliable Trump administration is very dangerous for the national interest.”