MW 'America alone' due to Trump tariffs is a bad thing - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon
By Steve Gelsi
'America First is fine,' Dimon said, but higher chances of a recession in the wake of Trump's tariffs have made him 'very cautious'
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon is promoting a route to help the U.S. economy that differs from the higher tariffs and other paths laid out by President Donald Trump.
In his annual letter to shareholders, Dimon did not mention Trump by name, but he warned about the threat of isolation posed by tariffs.
"Economics is the longtime glue, and America First is fine, as long as it doesn't end up being America alone," Dimon said. "If the Western world'smilitary and economic alliances were to fragment, America itself would inevitably weaken over time."
It's essential for the U.S. to preserve its military and economic alliances, he said.
"The opposite is precisely what our adversaries want," he said.
Dimon expanded on themes from his 2023 letter about the greatest challenges to democracy since World War II and an increasingly complex geopolitical situation.
The U.S. needs to work closely with its allies to face economic and political challenges from around the globe, he said.
"We need to remain competitive with China in the artificial intelligence(AI) race by bolstering our technological advancements and reducing our reliance on Taiwan for semiconductor chips," Dimon said. "Overall, I believe that respectful, strong and consistent engagement would be best for both the United States and China, as well as the rest of the world."
JPMorgan Chase's stock $(JPM)$ rose 2.5% on Monday after tumbling 14.5% over the previous two sessions - part of the worst two-day stretch for the stock market since 2020.
Also read: JPMorgan now says there's a 60% chance of a recession after tariff hikes
The CEO of the largest bank in the U.S. warned that, even with the bruising two-day selloff in financial markets, stock prices remain relatively high.
"It is worth noting that we enter this time of uncertainty with high equity and debt prices, even after the recent decline," Dimon said. "No matterhow you measure it, equity valuations are still well above their historical averages. And credit spreads are still near the low end of these sameranges."
Prices of these assets have been based on the expectation of a soft landing in the economy after the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates. Dimon said he's "not so sure" now that the economy will avoid a recession.
"All of these cross currents and turbulence may take years to play out," he said.
Dimon's comments in his closely watched yearly missive came in at just under 60 pages this year.
Last week, the bank's forecasters lifted their view on the chance of a recession to 60% in the wake of Trump's latest round of tariffs, which were met Friday with retaliation from China.
"These significant and somewhat unprecedented forces cause us to remain very cautious," Dimon said.
Dimon said the tariffs "are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession."
The bank's first-quarter earnings are due April 11.
Also read: Is a recession looming? Big banks' earnings could be an early indicator of financial strain.
-Steve Gelsi
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 07, 2025 11:09 ET (15:09 GMT)
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