JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon urged President Donald Trump to immediately “engage” with China over dueling tariffs — before a global trade war erodes US credibility.
The head of the nation’s largest bank, who has for years been floated as a possible Treasury Secretary, said the two sides need to find an off-ramp.
“I don’t think there’s any engagement right now . . . it doesn’t have to wait a year. It could start tomorrow,” he told the Financial Times on Tuesday.
He maintained that the US would always remain “a haven” because of its prosperity, rule of law, and economic and military strength.
But the 69-year-old Wall Street veteran, in JPMorgan’s top job for nearly two decades, warned that America’s economic might could be eroded by Trump’s efforts to renegotiate the rules of global trade.
“A lot of this uncertainty is challenging that a little bit. So you’re going to be reading about this nonstop until hopefully these tariffs and trade wars settle down and go away so people can say, I can rely on America,” Dimon said.
His comments came just a few days after the top banker told investors that a tit-for-tat trade war with its country’s trading partners would create “considerable turbulence” for the economy.
Dimon had previously hinted at his support for the commander-in-chief to use the threat of heavy tariffs as a means of forcing other governments to the table.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that more than 70 countries have lined up to hash out new trading arrangements with the United States.
Bessent’s address to banking industry titans came just hours before Trump hit pause on plans to levy a string of nations with reciprocal tariffs — with only China being subjected to a steep 145% tax.
Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” eroded billions of dollars from stock markets worldwide as bond traders began to dump US government debt, spiking the cost of borrowing.
“The markets are very volatile, it scares people,” Dimon told the FT.
“I think we should be clear-eyed about what we’re trying to accomplish. I would want to negotiate eventually with Europe, with the UK, with Japan, Korea, Australia, Philippines, and have a very strong economic relationship.”
JPMorgan and some of its top Wall Street rivals still managed to report strong first-quarter results because of strong performance from trading desks as investors sought to reorder their portfolios amid the tariff turmoil.
Trump has argued that tariffs were a necessary tool to bring back manufacturing jobs to the United States that had been lost to globalization.
The Post exclusively reported in November how senior members of Trump’s transition team had used Dimon as “a sounding board” for economic policy ahead of the 47th president’s second inauguration.
While the two men have not spoken directly, sources briefed on the matter told The Post that Dimon had reached out to Secretary Bessent last month to express his concerns about the tariff plans, saying he was confident that the former hedge fund executive could steer the US economy through turbulent times.
“I hope so,” Dimon said. “I know him a little bit. I think he’s an adult. I don’t agree with everything the administration is doing. So I’m not arguing that point. But I think he’s the guy who should probably be negotiating these trade agreements.”
Dimon also touched upon his succession plans after vowing to stay on as CEO until the end of next year, when he is likely to move upstairs to be chairman of JPMorgan.
Without specifically addressing any of the possible candidates to take over, the Queens native said he wants an executive who has courage, curiosity, grit, heart, and capability.
Possible successors include Mary Erdoes, Marianne Lake, Troy Rohrbaugh, and Doug Petno. Chief operating officer Jennifer Piepszak has ruled herself out of the running.
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