Protectionist Trade Policies Shine Spotlight on Gold As World Dumps Dollars and Treasuries

Governments and investors worldwide appear to be losing confidence in the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds. The start of a new global trade war has rattled the world as the rules around the global economic order have starkly changed in a matter of weeks. America’s move toward highly protectionist policies has triggered a stock market crash, a 9% decline in the U.S. dollar this year, and U.S. Treasury bonds are down too.

As the world’s financial faith in the U.S. has been rattled, global investors are pulling out of U.S. assets. Why is this significant?

In the past, during times of economic and financial crisis, investors around the globe bought the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury bonds as safe-haven investments. Now, they are selling the U.S. dollar and selling U.S. bonds.

Gold has now moved to the top step as the world’s ultimate safe-haven asset. In April, gold set new all-time highs above $3,400 an ounce as the flight to safety poured into the precious metals markets.

It’s worth considering that the U.S. policies are changing at a time when our nation owes a lot of money. The U.S. national debt tops $29 trillion. In fiscal year 2025, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts a budget deficit totaling $1.9 trillion. To fund our deficit and debt, our nation relies on capital inflow from foreign governments and investors.

In a new economic world order where the U.S. isn’t seen as a reliable partner, it makes sense for foreign investors to diversify their holdings away from U.S. assets, experts say. Indeed, it’s already starting to happen. According to Bank of America, foreign investors accounted for a smaller share of buyers at March Treasury auctions.

Foreigners own roughly 20-30% of the U.S. stock and bond markets, totaling about $19 trillion of U.S. equities, $7 trillion of Treasuries, and $5 trillion of U.S. corporate bonds, according to Apollo Management. A wholesale reversal of capital inflows to American markets could cause significant economic pain, fresh stock market losses, and significantly higher interest rates.

In the meantime, gold is increasingly seen as the only safe haven game in town. Goldman Sachs Group now projects that gold could climb to $3,700 by the end of this year. If the U.S. economy slips into recession, the firm projects gold hitting $3,880 this year. Looking into the middle of next year, Goldman expects gold to climb to $4,000 an ounce.

The U.S. economy isn’t out of the woods yet. The dust hasn’t even begun to settle. In closed-door meetings at the White House, the chief executives of Walmart and Target privately warned the President that tariff policy could result in empty shelves in their stores in the weeks ahead. If you are looking to take steps to protect your hard-earned assets, explore our gold inventory now. Gold at $4,000 may be here faster than you expect.

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