Wall Street’s Titan Jamie Dimon said Thursday that the recession remains a serious possibility for the United States, even after the recent rollback of tariffs on China.
“If there’s a recession, I don’t know how big it will be or how long it will last. Hopefully, I’ll avoid that, but at this point I won’t get rid of it from the table.”
Specifically, Dimon said he would postpone the bank’s economist. In a note to clients on Tuesday, the company’s chief economist Michael Ferroli said the outlook for the recession was “still rising, but now under 50%.”
Dimon’s comments come less than a week after the US and China announced they were significantly reducing tariffs on each other for 90 days. The US has also implemented a 90-day suspension on many tariffs in other countries.
Comments on Thursday show Dimon’s changes before China halted the country, saying it was likely a recession would occur.
He also said that there is still “uncertainty” on the tariff front, but the suspension is positive for the economy and the market.
“I think the right thing to do is to back some of those things down and have a conversation,” Dimon said.
However, even if the duties are suspended, import taxes on goods entering the US are sharply higher than last year, and could cause economic damage, according to Dimon.
“Even at this level, people see themselves lowering their investments and thinking about what they want to do,” Dimon said.
– Reported by CNBC’s Michael Bloom.