The CEO and chairman of the nation’s largest bank did a 180 on President Donald Trump‘s tariffs — again.
As markets around the globe and in the U.S. continue to plunge after Trump launched a trade war, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon just issued a warning to his shareholders that the “tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession.”
It’s the same Dimon who in January embraced the prospects of tariffs and told people to “get over it.”
Dimon said at the time tariffs could be a valuable “economic weapon” and a matter of “national security.” His comments came after Trump he expected to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico as soon as the beginning of February.
Now, Trump has embarked on a worldwide trade war that has Dimon sounding alarm bells.
Wall Street is sinking again, following other global markets lower, as worries deepen about whether Trump’s trade war will torpedo the global economy.
The S&P 500 was down 3.8% in early trading Monday, coming off its worst week since COVID began crashing the global economy in March 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,200 points, and the Nasdaq composite was 4% lower. Stocks in Hong Kong plunged 13.2% for their worst day since 1997. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil briefly dropped below $60 for the first time since 2021.
Trump’s tariff strategy has long been criticized by economists, investors and business leaders, who fear that U.S. isolation will severely limit economic growth.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened and futures trading for the benchmark was briefly suspended. It closed down 7.8% at 31,136.58.
European shares followed Asian markets lower, led by Germany’s DAX index, which briefly fell more than 10% at the open on the Frankfurt exchange, but recovered some ground to move down 4.8% in midday trading. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 5.1%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 4.9%.
On Friday, the worst market crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic shifted into a higher gear as the S&P 500 plummeted 6% and the Dow plunged 5.5%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 3.8%.
“There’s no sign yet that markets are finding a bottom and beginning to stabilize,” wrote Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
