Jamie Dimon shifts stance on tariffs: 'Uncertainty is Harmful'

Two months ago, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stood by President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, delivering a blunt message: "Get over it." However, with stock markets down and signs of strain in the US economy, Dimon himself may no longer be so dismissive.

“I don’t think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work… changes what they’re going to do because they read about tariffs,” Dimon said in an interview with Semafor on Wednesday.

“But I do think companies might,” he added. “Uncertainty is not a good thing.”

Dimon’s more measured stance on tariffs follows his previous remark at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he told critics to "get over it." At the time, he described tariffs as potentially being either "an economic tool" or "an economic weapon," depending on how they are applied.

“I would put in perspective: If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it,” Dimon said in an interview with CNBC at the time.

On Wednesday, Trump enacted broad 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, the latest escalation in a global trade war with Canada and the European Union quickly retaliating. Revive manufacturing back in the United States, restrict illegal immigration, and stop the trafficking of fentanyl. These objectives, according to Trump. But economists warn that those wide tariffs would push the costs from food to newly manufactured houses higher.

As for Dimon, he was just one among the many CEOs raising alarms about how a trade war could spell disaster for Wednesday. Larry Fink says that tariffs will cause weakness in the economy. Fink is the CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager.

“The collective impact in the short run is that people are pausing, they’re pulling back,” Fink told CNN’s Kayla Tausche in an exclusive interview. “Talking to CEOs throughout the economy, I hear that the economy is weakening as we speak.”

Nevertheless, Fink stated that the Trump administration's policies, including tariffs, could ultimately benefit the United States in the long term.

“Right now the president is focusing on tariffs, but when he talks about reciprocal tariffs, actually, that may bring down tariffs over the long run,” Fink said, adding that he remains bullish on America in the long term.