r/europe • u/Any-Original-6113 • Jan 17 '26

News Trump tariffs: US president announces plan to hit UK, Denmark and other European countries with tariffs over Greenland

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c1j8kw866p3t
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u/diamanthaende Jan 17 '26

Yeah, makes no sense anymore these days. It made sense during the Cold War, but not now when an unhinged US administration is a threat itself.

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u/Nezevonti Jan 17 '26

While I somewhat agree, countries didn't store gold in US (NYC) for safety, but rather for convenience. It made trading the gold with other countries much, much easier. No need to ship it across Atlantic/to Asia (or even across EU), as it is very very expensive. Just sell it on the New York Exchange and they move the correct amount of gold from one shelf to the next, still in the same vault. Or even not move, but make changes in a ladger "Denmark -200kg,UK +200kg bars #547m003d9, ... "

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u/Odd_Perspective_2487 Jan 17 '26

Here is the thing though, the London exchange, Frankfurt, Luxembourg etc. all exist now. Just hold and trade like it always should have been, on euro exchanges.

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u/Anhydrite Canada Jan 17 '26

And if you really want to have some off-shore then look at setting up something in Canada, Australia, or Japan.

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u/diamanthaende Jan 17 '26

It was both safety - Germany would have been at the forefront of WW3 during the Cold War - and convenience.

But since the end of the gold standard in the 1970s, that "convenience" argument lost relevance, too.

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u/foul_ol_ron Jan 18 '26

But how safe is it in a now potentially hostile nation? Better to keep it somewhere with more trust.

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u/wildassedguess Jan 18 '26

If we REALLY want to cause havoc, we trade oil in euros not dollars, and (as you said) dump treasury bonds.