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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the United States needs to get its act together on trade — quickly.
Dimon discussed the ongoing tension between the United States and China on Friday at the 2025 Reagan National Economic Forum, where he led a fireside chat. When asked what his biggest worry was right now, Dimon pointed to the shifting global geopolitical and economic landscape, including trade.
“We have problems and we’ve got to deal with them,” Dimon said before referring to “the enemy within.”
Addressing the “enemy within,” he said, includes fixing how the United States approaches permitting, regulation, taxation, immigration, education, and the healthcare system.
It also means maintaining important military alliances, he said.
“China is a potential adversary. They’re doing a lot of things well. They have a lot of problems,” Dimon said. “What I’m really worried about is us. Can we get our own act together? Our own values, our own capabilities, our own management.”
Dimon said that if the United States is not the “preeminent military and preeminent economy in 40 years, we will not be the reserve currency. That’s a fact.”
Although Dimon believes the United States is usually resilient, he said things are different this time around.
“We have to get our act together, and we have to do it very quickly,” he said.
During the conversation, Dimon spoke about trade deals and encouraged US leaders to engage with China.
“I just got back from China last week,” Dimon said. “They’re not scared, folks. This notion that they’re going to come bow to America, I wouldn’t count on that.”
Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on numerous countries, including steep tariffs on China, rattled global markets earlier this year. Markets recovered after many countries, including China, began negotiating. But the possibility that tariffs could increase again at any time has investors and economists on edge.
On Friday, for instance, in a Truth Social post, Trump accused China of violating the two countries’ trade agreement. That same day, Trump said he planned to increase tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%.
“We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States. Nobody’s going to get around that,” Trump said during a rally near Pittsburgh.
Representatives for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment.
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