BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Friday he was blindsided by the scope of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs — and joined other Wall Street bigwigs in warning that a trade war could push the economy into recession.
“The sweeping US tariff announcements went beyond anything I could have imagined in my 49 years in finance,” Fink told analysts on a conference call following BlackRock’s first-quarter earnings release.
“This isn’t Wall Street versus Main Street. The market downturn impacts millions of ordinary people’s retirement savings.”
Fink also expressed concern about the broader economic outlook, telling CNBC that he believes the US may already be in a recession.
“I think we’re very close, if not in, a recession now,” he said during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
Trump’s decision on April 2 to impose the most severe tariffs in over a century triggered a global sell-off.
The S&P 500 Index suffered its steepest two-day drop since the COVID-19 market crash in March 2020, plunging sharply on April 3 and 4.
While the president moved to ease tensions with a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, he maintained a firm stance on China — imposing a 145% levy on Chinese imports and keeping 10% tariffs on most other countries.
China retaliated early Friday morning by announcing that it was raising its own tariffs on US imports to 125%.
While Trump’s temporary tariff pause could buy time, it did little to alleviate deeper investor concerns, according to Fink.
“I think you’re going to see, across the board, just a slowdown until there’s more certainty. And we now have a 90-day on the reciprocal tariffs — that means longer, more elevated uncertainty.”
Fink noted that signs of a slowdown are already surfacing, even as headline economic data such as job growth and retail spending remain relatively strong.
He suggested that consumer stockpiling ahead of the tariffs may be obscuring underlying fragility in demand.
“In the short run, we have an economy that is at risk,” he said.
Despite the near-term turbulence, Fink emphasized that longer-term investment opportunities remain, such as the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and growing demand for infrastructure.
He also suggested that investors may begin shifting capital toward Europe as conditions in the US remain volatile.
At a separate Economic Club of New York event earlier in the week, Fink remarked that many CEOs share his concern about the country’s economic direction.
“Other CEOs also think the US is probably in a recession,” he said.
BlackRock’s latest quarterly results underscored the uncertainty.
The nation’s largest asset management firm reported adjusted earnings per share of $11.30 for the first quarter, topping analysts’ expectations of $10.14, according to LSEG.
However, revenue came in at $5.28 billion, falling short of the $5.34 billion forecast.
The firm attracted $84 billion in net inflows for the quarter and closed March with nearly $11.6 trillion in assets under management.
Fink said that rising inflation and market volatility have led clients to park nearly $950 billion in cash at BlackRock, a record amount.
“That money will eventually be deployed,” he said, “but for now, clients are waiting.”
Shares of BlackRock rose slightly in early Friday trading.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon echoed Fink’s sentiments on Friday, warning the US economy is facing “considerable turbulence” from Trump’s threats to start a global trade war.
“The economy is facing considerable turbulence (including geopolitics), with the potential positives of tax reform and deregulation and the potential negatives of tariffs and ‘trade wars’, ongoing sticky inflation, high fiscal deficits and still rather high asset prices and volatility,” Dimon said.
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