JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon breaks silence on Trump tariffs with warning

Jamie Dimon is sounding the alarm. 

In his annual letter to shareholders, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, 69, wrote that trade wars started by President Donald Trump risk driving up prices at American stores, undermining global alliances, and slowing economic growth.

The warning comes as global stock markets — including pre-market trading in the US — continue the carnage that shed trillions of dollars last week.  

JPMorgan raised its likelihood of a recession from 40 percent to 60 percent.  

'Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth,' Dimon wrote. 

'If the Western world’s military and economic alliances were to fragment, America itself would inevitably weaken over time.' 

The warning comes after Reuters reports that Dimon and other bank CEOs met with White House Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 

The meeting took place on Thursday, but the meeting and days of global market downturns don't seem to have changed the Trump administration's minds.  

Dimon has run JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank, for 19 years and is one of the most prominent voices in corporate America. 

The bank leader's warning comes as global markets roil over President Trump's game-changing policies. 

Japan's Nikkei index lost nearly 8 percent of its value in one day and composites in China shed nearly 10 percent. 

America's S&P 500 is also deep in the red in pre-market trading after American stocks lost trillions of dollars last week. 

The giant stock losses came directly after President Trump's tariff announcements. 

Investors were largely shocked by the White House's tariff policies. 

Financial markets expected President Trump to reshape global trade with the policies — but the 10 percent baseline tariff combined with the 'reciprocal' policy that slapped up to 47 percent taxes on goods coming from major US trade partners was far higher than expected. 

In the shareholder letter, Dimon didn't mince words when talking about the impact of continued stock losses and raised taxes on American consumers. 

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'We are likely to see inflationary outcomes,' he said. 

'The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse.' 

Dimon is not alone. 

Bill Ackman, a billionaire and staunch Trump supporter, has called for a 90-day pause on the tariff policies. 

In a post on X, Ackman warned of an 'economic nuclear winter' if American policy remains undeterred. 

'The country is 100 percent behind the president on fixing a global system of tariffs that has disadvantaged the country,' he wrote on the social media app. 

'But business is a confidence game and confidence depends on trust.' 

At the same time, Trump's top economic advisors downplayed the effects of the tariffs on weekend news programs. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was 'no reason' to expect an upcoming recession in the US.