JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Chairman of Jamie Dimon, has long demanded that the US and China speak now in order to prevent similar tariff fights on both sides from expanding into a worldwide trade war. Mr. Dimon’s comments were made in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Mr. Dimon, who has been JPMorgan’s chief for almost 20 years, said the two nations must work to resolve their trade dispute. The rule of law and the economic and military power make America a stable, prosperous country, he said. He cautioned, however, that the trade disputes were extinguishing the flame of economic stability internationally and domestically.
“Well, far, far away: I don’t think there needs to be anyway… that doesn’t need to be until a year. It could be with immediate effect,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The economic uncertainty and stock market volatility
For Dimon, the concern is the uncertainty over the current trade situation. Such ambiguity risks shaking confidence regarding the eventual stability of the US economy, he cautioned. He said this situation would remain in place until the tariff and trade disputes were resolved.
The challenge is very real, given that people all experience much of the uncertainty. And you are going to read about this ad nauseam until these tariffs and trade wars, and let us hope they do what they will and go away, so someone will be able to say, I can depend on America,’ Dimon said.
He then told investors that a tit-for-tat trade war between the country and its trading partners would lead to “serious turbulence” for the economy.
Trade through Tariff Policies
A previously awaited Treasury Secretary announcement from Scott Bessent valued US trade negotiations oppositions in more than 70 countries through over 20 different trade negotiations. This was just the day prior to President Trump cancelling plans for tariffs against other nations but China at 145%.
President Trump referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day” (the date of the Executive Order freeing Americans). On this day, stock markets around the world suffered losses worth billions of dollars, with the market showing extreme fluctuations! US government debt turmoil sent bond market borrowing costs high but also rippled through other financial markets.
Dimon said in an interview with the FT, ‘The markets are very crazy,’ adding that ‘It scares the hell out of people.
Mr Dimon added that a small amount of clarity on the strategy with major trading partners—Europe, the UK, Japan, Korea, Australia, and the Philippines—may not be so bad.
Succession, Leadership
Mr. Dimon also discussed succession plans. He recently said he preferred to stay on as CEO through the end of 2023 when he intends to become chairman.
He talked about what he wanted to see in his successor — courage, curiosity, grit, heart, and capability.
Mary Erdoes, Marianne Lake, Troy Rohrbaugh, and Doug Petno are some replacements. Jennifer Piepszak, chief operating officer, also said she wasn’t a candidate. “I hope so,” Dimon said. “I know him a little bit. I think he’s an adult. The fact is that I am not (pro) of everything that this administration is doing. Nonetheless, I’m not arguing this particular point. But you know, I think he is probably the one guy that should be doing these trade deals.”
Other Key Insights
First-quarter hits to Wall Street firms such as JPMorgan were cushioned by a seemingly magician’s trading desk that managed to adjust as portfolio rotations took over in anticipation of the tariffs built on top of collateral tariff-induced market moves.
This alignment is partly due to President Trump’s argument that tariffs are necessary to create US manufacturing jobs that he believes have been driven away through globalization.
