Planning To Export Your Precious Metals? Don't Make This Common Mistake

[Editor's Note: The following post is by TDV Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Berwick]

What’s the difference between the mafia and the government? Size.

The word “mafia” itself is a blanket term used to describe a type of organized crime syndicate, which “primarily practices protection racketeering – the use of violent intimidation to manipulate local economic activity, especially illicit trade; secondary activities may be practiced such as drug-trafficking, loan-sharking and fraud.”

Does that sound like “your” government? Yep? “Mine” too. 

With this in mind, there are lots of things to consider while trying to preserve your and your family’s assets. What is the likelihood of a SWAT team busting into your home and taking your life savings of silver, as happened with Adam Kokesh? That likelihood might be much higher than you think. That’s what Adam learned:

There are many, many reasons to buy gold, as we have recommended here for years. Because of our advice, people have done quite well in gold and silver, mining stocks, bitcoin and other instruments which store value. Personally, I think the modern gold story is only at the beginning. That’s why you’ll find me writing and talking quite often about gold.

What’s so interesting to me about the entire economy being manipulated by governments is that it took a long while for people to even consider that gold and silver might be manipulated. Personally, I am not 100% convinced that gold and silver are outright manipulated, though I’ve heard some convincing cases.

But, that this is not even considered (especially after Libor, etc.) tells me one thing: namely, that if news of gold manipulation surfaces, it will be a big deal, and might be seen in hindsight as one of the main catalysts which brought down the US-based dollar system.

That point in time might have become a little bit closer this month when Elke Koenig, the president of Germany’s top financial regulator, Bafin, said that in addition to the curency rates, precious metals manipulation “is worse than the Libor-rigging scandal.”

The allegations about the currency and precious metals markets are “particularly serious, because such reference values are based – unlike Libor and Euribor – typically on transactions in liquid markets and not one estimates of the banks,” said Koenig from Frankfurt. Bafin has actually interviewed employees of Deutsche Bank AG as part of a probe of potential manipulation of gold and silver prices.

At the same time as this news is getting out in Germany, the largest English-language portal in East China, Shanghai Daily, published this month that the Chinese central bank is on the verge of announcing its gold holdings have nearly tripled from 1054 tons to 2710 tons.

Obviously there are lots of bullish cases to be made for gold, (too many to cite here) especially in the long-term. Ed Bugos analyzes the gold market and mining stocks in our weekly newsletter, and he has helped me do very well in recent years.

I also think, however, that there are key reasons why gold alone cannot sustain us at the end of the monetary system as we know it. (TEOTMSAWKI)

THE US CENSUS BUREAU COMMODITIES DECLARATION FORM

There are plenty of reasons why gold alone cannot sustain a healthy portfolio. That the US Census Bureau forces US citizens to declare commodities you export with a value over $2,500 is one such reason. Where is the privacy in that? Border officials confiscate precious metals from travelers routinely due to this one form going unfilled. 

In Fact that is what for certain happened at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2010. US Customs and Border Protections (CB&P) confiscated nearly $160,000 in gold and silver in one month alone. And that was at but one airport! There are many international airports in the US, so surely that total can be multiplied.

The reason the holdings were confiscated was because the travelers had failed to disclose their holdings on a US Census Bureau “Shipper’s Export Declaration.” (SED) US citizens must declare gold and silver (and other commodities) when a shipment has a vaue exceeding $2,500 or more. The problem? Barely anybody knows about it. (the government has yet to overpaid its cronies for the proper marketing of this form)

If you don’t fill out this declaration, it can result in confiscation of the commodities, as well as a fine up to $10,000 and you might also be thrown in a cage. Oh, and the government keeps your metals.

But, it gets worse: good luck figuring out how to correctly fill out the form! Through the red tape and bureaucratese, you will be lucky to export within the purview of law. That’s why we prepared a special report, “Get Your Gold Out Of Dodge.”

Although governments pose far greater threats to us than our neighbors, when you own gold and silver (and especially keep it at home) not only do you risk having that gold stolen, as happens all the time, but you also risk life-and-limb. A simple Google search for this paints a clear picture.

I personally don’t keep my gold bullion on me. I have a little bit just in case things get really tough and I need to buy supplies, but that is a very negligible amount. I’ve internationalized my assets, and that includes my gold. I own gold all over the world. This helps me to sleep at night.

If a major event happens in one country where I’ve stored gold, I can still be assured that the gold I’ve sprinkled throughout the entire planet will be safe. And it’s not like all of my wealth is just in gold. I’ve been working on internationalizing my assets ever since I came into them, and what I’ve learned during this journey is why I started TDV Media.

TDV WEALTH MANAGEMENT CRISIS CONFERENCE

There are lots of different instruments people can own as a store of value. But, sometimes it isn’t what you save, but how you save. And, more to the point, where you save. And that’s why I’ve played a hands on role in organizing the Wealth Management Crisis Conference. We’re bringing together foremost experts in the arena of asset internationalization, and I couldn’t be more excited.

The phone calls we are getting are absolutely stunning.  But, with each phone call we’ve received, no matter how dire the situation, we’ve been able to start acting on a plan that makes sense for each individual. That’s one thing that excites me most about the conference: it is to be highly personalized. That means we aren’t offering a one-size-fits-all solution. We are tailoring the program to each individual’s needs, and this is where the value truly is.

2014 may be the last year to salvage your assets. Judging by all the phone calls we’ve been receiving over the last few weeks, I have no doubt this is a serious possibility. FATCA will already be implemented in just a few short months.

The ways and means by which to export wealth out of respective countries have been shutting down for quite awhile. Just try to export gold and silver to foreign countries. The paperwork is daunting, and it’s likely to be outright illegal. The difficulties with moving gold around is one of the main reasons we thought up the Crisis Conference. There was clearly a need for this type of service, and we knew TDV had the resources and connections to make something special happen.

If you’re familiar with our work, you know what we are about, and you’ll also know that diversification is key to surviving the new economic system (abject poverty for nearly all?) as it’s final pieces fall into place. History might not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes (as Mark Twain once wrote), and we’ve seen the wealth of nations wiped out time-after-time.

Take note that the conference is for people with around $1 million in assets and up. If you are not sure if this conference meets your needs, feel free to call TDV Wealth Management at +1-646-568-5518 Ext. 516 or email [email protected] for a short, free consultation. Or for more information on what is on offer and to learn more about the very serious issues that we have discussed above, click here. Act quick, however, because there are just a couple of spots left.