Dimon says Trump's tariff talk will 'bring people to the table' - BNN Bloomberg

James Demmert, Chief Investment Officer at Main Street Research, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss key insights for U.S. banks’ earnings season.

(Bloomberg) —

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon said tariff threats from President-elect Donald Trump will “bring people to the table,” adding that he hopes it is “done sensibly.”

Trump is “not against trade – he thinks a lot of these things have been unfair to America, and there are examples where that is true,” Dimon said Thursday at the APEC CEO Summit Peru 2024 in Lima. “If there is something unfair, it must be resolved. If we start to empower ourselves at the expense of everyone else, there will be retaliation.”

Dimon is among business leaders and heads of state who have flocked to the Peruvian capital this week for a series of meetings sandwiched between the US presidential election and the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week. Donald Trump’s victory looms large over the event as attendees consider the potential impact on the global economy.

Thursday will be Dimon’s first public appearance since last week’s election. He has refused to back either candidate during the campaigns and has said that as CEO of the largest US bank he will work with whoever comes to power. In a letter to employees last week, Dimon and his top management congratulated Trump on his victory and said the company “looks forward to engaging the new administration.”

Minutes before his panel, Trump said on Truth Social that Dimon will not be invited to join the Trump administration. When asked about the position, Dimon replied, “I haven’t had a boss in 25 years and I’m not ready to start yet.”

Shares of the largest US banks soared in the wake of Trump’s victory, with JPMorgan jumping nearly 12% to a record the day after the election. That euphoria has cooled recently as investors weigh Trump’s Cabinet appointments and possible policy roadmaps once he takes office in January.

“A lot of bankers are dancing in the streets,” Dimon said, regardless of who they voted for after years of stricter regulations. “Animal spirits will be unleashed” as companies look harder at acquisitions and capital deployments, he said – “and they should.”

Last month, Dimon warned that despite slowing inflation, “critical issues remain” for the US economy, including budget deficits, infrastructure needs and re-militarization. He has also said repeatedly in recent years that his concerns about geopolitical tensions dwarf whether the US will make a soft or hard landing – a message he reiterated again on Thursday.

“The issue of the world is the future of freedom and democracy, which revolves around geopolitical, military and economic geopolitics,” Dimon said. “It’s more important that we get that right than whether we have a soft landing.”