Jamie Dimon sends curt 6-word response to tariff war
March 13, 2025
People have gotten uneasy about the U.S. economy.
Uncertainty is building after a series of news reports concerning inflation and jobs, and after forecasts suggest U.S. economic activity is slowing.
This month, the situation became even more worrisome as President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on key trading partners and promised reciprocal tariffs on other countries. The moves have led to tit-for-tat responses from many governments, sparking talk of a trade war.
The stock market hasn’t reacted well to the mounting tensions. The S&P 500 tumbled about 10% before finding its footing this week.
Last year’s high flyers did ever worse. The tech-stock-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell about 13%, and individual stocks that were previously market darlings, like Nvidia, dropped by 20% or more.
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The growing tariff debate has led many business leaders to weigh in on related pros and cons, including JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Dimon is considered one of the most influential CEO’s in America. He commands the largest bank in the U.S. and the fifth largest worldwide. That puts his finger directly on the pulse of the economy.
The U.S. economy slows, sends stocks reeling
It’s been a tough go for many Americans. Inflation has retreated from its peak in 2022 above 8%, but prices are still climbing, crimping budgets.
Meanwhile, despite Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in the fourth quarter, borrowing rates remain high, making homes, autos and everyday purchases made on credit cards pricier.
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And it’s not just consumers who are feeling the impact. Businesses are also starting to worry about sticky inflation and anywhere from sluggish to declining discretionary purchases. People are becoming choosier about how they spend their money, and that means a hit on everything from electronics to RVs.
According to the Consumer Price Index, prices increased 2.8% in February. That was calmer than expected, but one month doesn’t equal a trend.
In September, inflation was 2.4%, low enough to give the Fed cover to cut interest rates in September, November and December. But the central bank has since paused additional rate cuts because of the volatility in inflation over the past few months.
Complicating matters for the economy is a steady flow of job losses. While historically low, the unemployment rate has increased to 4.1% last month from 3.5% in 2023. In February consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas said 172,000 people lost their jobs, the most in the month of February since 2009.
Unsurprisingly, America is developing a confidence problem. The risk of stagflation — a period of rising inflation and slowing GDP — caused the Conference Board’s closely watched Expectations Index to drop to 72.9. In the past, readings below 80 often signal that a recession looms.
Jamie Dimon issues stark warning on tariff impact
The situation is likely to worsen this month following the White House’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports and a 20% tariff on Chinese imports.
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The extra costs will likely send shock waves through many industries that over the past 20 years have shifted supply chains to reduce costs and bolster profit.
Automakers like General Motors have built factories in Canada and Mexico, produce is imported from Mexico, lumber and crude oil are imported from Canada, and a substantial share of auto parts, toys, clothing and electronics are still made in China.
Given that Americans are already nervous about their budgets and are cutting back on spending, many companies that are forced to pay more to import goods will likely struggle to fully pass along tariffs to their customers.
That could be a big problem, especially for retailers like Kohl’s, which rely on Chinese apparel imports for their private label products.
The tariff tension isn’t showing any signs of easing, either. On March 13 President Trump threatened 200% tariffs on wine from France.
He also recently added a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. Alcoa CEO William Oplinger has said that tariffs could mean 100,000 Americans lose their jobs, including 20,000 aluminum industry workers, given that 58% of aluminum imports are produced in Canada.
The aftershocks associated with tariffs have caught Jamie Dimon’s attention. Dimon has a direct line to the nation’s largest CEOs, and his recent comments in a Semafor interview suggest that his conversations with businesses are increasingly antsy.
When asked about tariffs, he bluntly said, “Uncertainty is not a good thing.”
More Economic Analysis:
- U.S. consumers are wilting under renewed stagflation risks
- Jobs reports provide critical look at economy, could roil markets
- Fed inflation gauge indicates big changes in key economic driver
The concessions are a bit of an about-face for Dimon, who had told people to “get over it” regarding tariff worries in January.
Dimon still doesn’t seem too concerned about tariffs’ impact on consumers, but he does appear increasingly worried about corporate America.
“I don’t think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work … changes what they’re going to do because they read about tariffs,” Dimon said. “But I do think companies might.”
If so, that’s not great for avoiding a recession. Companies concerned about unintended consequences associated with tariffs could press pause on projects they’d otherwise embrace, creating an economic headwind just as the economy could use tailwinds.
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