Germany, Italy were strongly recommended to bring back $245bn of gold stored in US
Politicians from Germany and Italy have recommended that their governments return a portion of the gold reserves stored in the United States, with a total market value exceeding $245bn, to Europe, TASS reports
The Financial Times newspaper reported that such proposals were made in response to ‘increasing geopolitical turbulence’ and the conflict between US President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve after its refusal to reduce the key interest rate. Fabio De Masi, a former member of the European Parliament and current member of Germany’s Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice, said there are ‘strong arguments’ for relocating more gold to Europe ‘in [these] turbulent times’. According to the World Gold Council, Germany and Italy rank second and third in the world (after the US) in terms of gold reserves, with holdings of 3,352 tonnes and 2,452 tonnes respectively. Both countries rely heavily on the New York Federal Reserve as a custodian, with each storing over one-third of their reserves in the United States.
Peter Gauweiler, an ex-member of the Bundestag (German Parliament) from the conservative Christian Social Union, stressed that the German Federal Bank (Bundesbank) ‘must not take any shortcuts’ when it comes to protecting the country’s gold reserves. The German politician believes that the German authorities need to examine the issue of whether ‘it has become safer and more stable to store gold abroad’ over the past ten years.
“The answer to this question is obvious,” Gauweiler said.
“We are very concerned that Trump will interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve,” President of the Taxpayers Association of Europe Michael Jaeger added.
He recommended returning German and Italian gold ‘to their homeland’ so that the central banks of European countries could have ‘unlimited control over it at any time’. According to Jaeger, the association has already sent letters to the ministries of finance and the central banks of Germany and Italy, urging policymakers to reconsider relying on the Federal Reserve as their gold custodian.
