For decades, Germany has stored around 1,200 tonnes of its gold—about 30% of its total reserves—deep within the vaults of the US Federal Reserve in Manhattan.
These reserves, currently valued at approximately €113 billion (₹9.83 lakh crore), were historically kept overseas to ensure quick dollar liquidity during financial emergencies.
However, senior members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is expected to play a major role in Germany’s next government, are rethinking that strategy.
According to Bild, the move is driven by fears that Washington can no longer be considered a consistently reliable partner.
“Of course, the question has arisen again,” said Marco Wanderwitz, a former German minister and CDU member who has long advocated for either regular inspections or the repatriation of the gold.
CDU European Parliament member Markus Ferber echoed this view, stating, “I demand regular checks of Germany’s gold reserves. Official representatives of the Bundesbank must personally count the bars and document their results.”
Both politicians made their remarks before Trump’s recent decision to impose sweeping tariffs on the European Union, a move likely to harden Germany’s stance.
Michael Jäger from the Taxpayers Association of Europe also supported relocation, suggesting that Germany should “bring all gold reserves to Frankfurt or at least to Europe as quickly as possible.”
Germany’s gold holdings, accumulated largely through post-World War II export surpluses under the Bretton Woods system, are the second-largest in the world—trailing only the United States, according to the report.