By Callum Keown
Wall Street is starting to turn on President Donald Trump and his tariffs policy.
Veteran investors Bill Ackman and Stan Druckenmiller, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have all weighed in on their concerns over Trump's aggressive levies.
Dimon said the latest tariffs will likely increase inflation and slow down growth, in a letter to shareholders. He said his most serious concern was how it will affect American's long-term economic alliances.
Druckenmiller was more subtle in his opposition. In a rare post on X, the social media platform, he said he doesn't support tariffs exceeding 10%.
In contrast, Ackman was quite clear, warning of a "self-induced economic nuclear winter," if Trump doesn't call a 90-day pause on the impending levies. The Pershing Square CEO has been a public supporter of Trump.
"If, on the other hand, on April 9 we launch economic nuclear war on every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocket books, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate," he said in a post on X.
Dimon began writing his annual letter to shareholders before Trump unveiled sweeping global tariffs on so-called Liberation Day last week. It's fair to assume he's rewritten large parts of it since.
"The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession," Dimon wrote. "And even with the recent decline in market values, prices remain relatively high. These significant and somewhat unprecedented forces cause us to remain very cautious," he added.
"Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth," he wrote.
He listed a number of uncertainties around the new policy, including the potential retaliatory actions of other countries, the effect on confidence, the impact on investments and capital flows, as well as the effect on corporate profits and possible impact on the U.S. dollar.
But Dimon said that time was of the essence when it comes to the impact of tariffs. "The quicker this issue is resolved that better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse. In the short run I see this as one large additional straw on the camel's back."
Dimon hoped that following negotiations the long-term effect would have some positive benefits for the U.S. However, he added his "most serious concern is how this will affect America's long-term economic alliance."
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 07, 2025 08:39 ET (12:39 GMT)
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