The CEO of JPMorgan Chase has said Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are “likely” to spark a recession.
Jamie Dimon is one of the most prominent voices in corporate America and has regularly been consulted by administrations during times of crisis.
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A recession is when there are at least six months of economic contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced over a specific period.
Appearing on US channel Fox Business, Mr Dimon said: “I think probably [a recession is] a likely outcome.”
“When you see a 2000-point decline [in the Dow Jones Industrial Average], it sort of feeds on itself, doesn’t it,” he continued.
Offering advice for the Trump administration, Mr Dimon called for the US government to make fast progress on trade agreements with other countries.
“Take a deep breath, negotiate some trade deals. That’s the best thing they can do,” he said. “I’m taking a calm view. But I think it could get worse if we don’t make some progress here.”
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JPMorgan has “lost a couple of bond deals already” as clients overseas have said they would rather do business with local banks, the CEO added.
Mr Trump‘s baseline 10% tariffs came into force on Saturday 5 April and his tougher levies – including 20% for the European Union – were implemented at 5am today.
