Trump tariffs spark business uncertainty, says JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's comments come as stock markets have been affected by changing tariff policies and investor confidence remains shaky amid trade tensions

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are creating uncertainty for businesses. However, he does not believe they have a significant impact on everyday consumers.

 

“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 during an interview with Semafor at a summit in Washington, DC. “But I do think companies might. Uncertainty is not a good thing,” he said.

 

Dimon’s comments come as stock markets have been affected by changing tariff policies. The S&P 500 has dropped over 7 per cent in the past month. On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. Canada and the European Union responded with their own tariffs on US goods.

 

However, according to WVTM13, two months ago, Dimon had defended Trump’s tariff policies, saying, “Get over it.” With growing market uncertainty, his tone now seems more cautious.

 

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink also spoke about the impact of tariffs. “The collective impact in the short run is that people are pausing, they’re pulling back,” Fink said in an interview with CNN. “Talking to CEOs throughout the economy, I hear that the economy is weakening as we speak.”

 

Despite short-term concerns, Fink believes the policy could help the US in the long run. “When [Trump] talks about reciprocal tariffs, actually, that may bring down tariffs over the long run,” he said.

 

Trump’s tariff war 

Donald Trump created uncertainty in global business by initiating a tariff war. Recently, he imposed tariffs on several countries, particularly China, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. According to Trump, these tariffs are intended to support US businesses and address unfair trade practices.

 

The biggest fight was with China, where both countries kept adding new tariffs on each other’s goods. This made things like electronics and farm products more expensive. The US also put tariffs on steel and aluminium from Europe and Canada, and those countries responded by taxing US products like whiskey and jeans.

 

In 2020, the US and China signed a ‘Phase One’ trade deal, where China agreed to buy more US goods, but many tariffs remained. Even after Trump left office in 2021, some tariffs stayed in place under the new president. Reports suggest that it also made things more expensive and created economic uncertainty. Some companies moved supply chains away from China, but the trade war did not fully solve US trade problems.

 

[With inputs from agencies]