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JPMorgan Chase (JPM-1.03%) CEO Jamie Dimon had some critical words for President Donald Trump’s tariffs — but he said he also understands the intent behind them.
“I thought it was too large, too big and too aggressive when it started,” Dimon said of the tariff package during an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles (FOXA-0.75%). He added that it’s understandable for Americans to say of trade, “it’s unfair [and] we want to fix it.”
But Dimon said the tariffs were “part of a master plan to get people to the table.”
Dimon was critical of the tariffs soon after they were announced, telling Fox Business in April that the tariffs were “way beyond what people expected” and that they “will cause inflation.” Trump softened his stance on tariffs shortly after that interview aired.
“He’s been pro-business, pro-deregulation, and getting his tax reform,” Dimon said of Trump in the interview published Thursday night. “Those things could be very good for the growth of the American economy. I would focus on that. There are a lot of other distractions that take place [with] this administration. Focus on those goals. And the tariffs? Just make progress now, country by country, tariff by tariff.”
Dimon also said Trump should work on immigration reform because of its potential impact on the economy. “We need seasonal workers, we need a path to citizenship for some of the undocumented but law-abiding immigrants, we need DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals],” he said. “He could be the immigration president. We’ve been arguing about this stuff for 40 or 50 years and it’s been a huge mistake.”
The chief executive of the world’s largest bank thinks the worst effects of Trump’s tariffs aren’t over. “In the short run, you’ll probably see a little bit more inflation and a slowing economy. That’s what our economists say and I would guess that’s going to be true,” he said. Dimon pointed out that soft indicators like consumer and business sentiment are down, but hard numbers like unemployment and investments have remained fairly steady. Yet, he expects those numbers to decline soon too. “Hopefully it’ll just be a very mild thing.”
Dimon didn’t rule out the possibility of a recession, but managed to keep an optimistic tone.
“If we have a short-term recession, we’ll get through that and hopefully get back on the growth curve.”