JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon urged President Donald Trump to “involve” with China over duel tariffs before the world trade war erodes our credibility.
The head of the nation’s largest bank, who has long been the Treasury Secretary, said both sides need to find an off-ramp.
“I don’t think there’s any engagement right now. There’s no need to wait a year. It could start tomorrow,” he told the Financial Times Tuesday.
He argued that the United States would always remain “heaven” because of its prosperity, rule of law, economic and military strength.
However, the 69-year-old Wall Street veteran has been at the top of JPMorgan for nearly 20 years, warning that the American economy could be eroded by Trump’s efforts to renegotiate world trade rules.
“A lot of this uncertainty is a bit challenging, so you can read about this nonstop and say people can turn to America until these tariffs and trade wars settle down and leave,” Dimon said.
His comments came just days after the top bankers told investors that a tough trade war with the country’s trading partners would create “substantial turbulence” in the economy.
Dimon had previously suggested his support for the commander to use the heavy tariff threat as a way to force other governments to the table.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said last week that more than 70 countries are lined up in new deal arrangements with the United States.
Bescent’s speech to Titan in the banking industry came hours before Trump paused with plans to collect a series of countries with mutual tariffs.
Trump’s April 2nd “liberation day” erod billions of dollars from stock markets around the world as bond traders began to dump US government debt and caused borrowing costs.
“The market is very unstable and scares people,” Dimon told Fort.
“I think we should be clear about what we are trying to achieve. We will end up negotiating with Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines, and have a very strong economic relationship.”
JPMorgan and some of its Top Wall Street rivals were able to report strong first quarter results due to strong performance from trading desks as investors tried to reorder the portfolio amid the tariff turmoil.
Trump argued that tariffs are the necessary tools to regain manufacturing jobs to the US, which has been lost to globalization.
The post only reported how senior members of the Trump transition team used Dimon as the “sounding board” for economic policy in November, ahead of President 47’s second inauguration.
The two men have not spoken directly, but sources who were briefed on the issue said last month that Dimon reached out to Secretary Becent to express concern about the tariff plan, saying he is confident that former hedge fund executives can pilot the US economy through turbulent times.
“I hope so,” Dimon said. “I know him a bit. I think he’s an adult. I don’t agree with everything the administration is doing, so I’m not arguing for that. But I think he’s probably someone to negotiate these trade deals.”
Dimon also touched on his succession plan after vowing to remain as CEO until the end of next year.
The Queens native said he wanted an executive with courage, curiosity, grit, heart and abilities without challenging any of the possible candidates.
Possible successors include Mary Eldos, Marianne Lake, Troy Rourbaud and Doug Petno. Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Piepsack has removed herself from the run.
