German legislators have brought up the question that concerns the security of the national gold reserves stored abroad, primarily in New York. Until recently, this topic mostly stirred interest among right-wing populists, but now it is gaining attention across the political spectrum. Notably, the matter has entered public discourse following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

At present, the Bundesbank holds the world’s second-largest gold reserve: 3,352 metric tons, one-third of which is stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Until recently, this arrangement suited everyone. However, Trump’s tariff policies have altered the equation. As a result, the German Taxpayers Association sent letters to the Bundesbank and the US Treasury demanding the gold be repatriated. “Trump wants to control the Federal Reserve. It means he wants to control the German gold reserves stored in the US. That’s our money, and it should come home,” Michael Jäger, deputy head of the Taxpayers Association, stressed.

Markus Ferber, a member of the European Parliament from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is on the same page. He believes the US “is no longer the reliable partner it once was.” Meanwhile, the Bundesbank leadership responded calmly, calling the New York Fed “an important storage location.”

Any suggestion of moving gold from the US is a sensitive issue. Analysts note that such discussions are politically charged and can easily be interpreted as a lack of trust in the Federal Reserve. Trump’s frequent criticism of the central bank, including personal attacks on Chairman Jerome Powell, only adds to fears about the regulator’s future independence.

The lion’s share of Germany’s gold reserve was accumulated during the export boom of the 1950s and 1960s. One of the key reasons for storing part of it in New York during the Cold War was the desire to keep it far from the USSR. Additionally, this reinforced the military-political alliance between Germany and the United States.

After the collapse of the USSR—and later between 2014 and 2017—the Bundesbank repatriated around 300 metric tons of gold from New York, citing “the need to build domestic trust.” Currently, Germany’s gold reserves are split between the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Bank of England in London.