America’s Top Banker Raises Alarm About Trump’s Latest Tariff Plan
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of an “extraordinary amount of complacency” in the markets over the tariffs.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Atlantic
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has warned that the worst fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariff policies is yet to come.
The markets celebrated earlier this month after the U.S. and China announced a 90-day cooling-off period in their escalating trade war, with both sides temporarily reducing their tit-for-tat tariffs while they negotiate a longer-term solution.
During the pause, the U.S. will reduce its duties on Chinese goods from 145 percent to 30 percent, while China will lower its tariffs on American products from 125 percent to 10 percent.
Trump has also paused the “reciprocal” tariffs he announced April 2 on products from dozens of countries, though he kept a universal 10 percent tariff plus several sector-specific tariffs in place.
President Donald Trump has paused some of the tariffs he announced on April 2, but banker Jamie Dimon said the current rates are still “pretty extreme.”
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Dimon told investors on Monday that even with the pauses, the current tariff levels are “pretty extreme.”
“People feel pretty good because you haven’t seen an effect of tariffs,” he said. “The market came down 10 percent, it’s back up 10 percent. I think that’s an extraordinary amount of complacency.”
The 69-year-old banker—who has helmed JPMorgan Chase for more than 19 years and is known for his measured analysis—also said he thought the risks of inflation and stagflation were higher than other analysts are saying. Stagflation occurs when high inflation is combined with poor growth and weak employment.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“I think you’re going to see the effect even if these [tariff] levels stay where they are today,” he said, citing rising costs and uncertain trade flows.
The S&P 500 as of May 20.
“You also don’t know how countries are going to respond, and they are responding,” he added. “They’ve already started cutting trade deals with other people.”
The Trump administration originally said that other countries would foot the bill for the tariffs, which a form of import tax paid by American companies with the added costs typically passed on to consumers.
Officials have since alternated between warning American companies that they’d better eat the costs of the tariffs, telling American consumers they need to tighten their belts for a while, and assuring voters they will find savings in other areas—even when the math doesn’t add up.
The administration has said the tariffs will help bring manufacturing back to the U.S., but even if that’s eventually true, the markets are being overly optimistic in the short term, Dimon said Monday.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has warned that the retailer will have to raise prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
“Even if you wanted to bring all that manufacturing back, it takes three to four—at minimum, to build a real manufacturing plant—years,” he said.
Last week, Dimon said there was still a very real chance the U.S. economy could enter a recession as consumer confidence hit near-record lows.
Retailers such as Walmart–which analysts view as a bellwether of U.S. consumer health—have said they can’t absorb the extra costs of the tariffs, and that customers would see higher prices by the end of the month.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.