JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon: If we're lucky, we'll get a trade deal by the 'end of the year'

In This Article:

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon wants to see the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China resolved, but he doesn’t expect a deal anytime soon.

"There are serious trade issues. We all want the president to deal with trade seriously, which he's been doing. We don't expect a quick resolution at this point,” Dimon told Yahoo Finance's Andy Serwer in an exclusive interview at the unveiling of JPMorgan’s new flagship bank branch in Midtown Manhattan.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the G20 summit later this week in Osaka, Japan.

[See Also: Jamie Dimon describes the bank branch of the future: Fewer tellers, more advisors]

"I think the best you can expect is that they have a good meeting, that they start renegotiating, that the tariffs are off for now, and give the teams a chance to negotiate a deal, that maybe, if we are lucky, can be done by the end of the year,” Dimon said.

U.S. stocks (^GSPC) (^DJI) have remained near all-time highs despite lingering trade and tariff tensions between the U.S. and China.

"The market sometimes is inscrutable," Dimon said. “But, if you actually look at geopolitics, they rarely affect the global economy. They could, you know, these things get worse, but they rarely affect the global economy. I think trade is serious.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon speaks during the Business Roundtable CEO Innovation Summit in Washington, DC on December 6, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)        (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon speaks during the Business Roundtable CEO Innovation Summit in Washington, DC on December 6, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

In his annual letter released in April, Dimon said that the U.S.'s trade issues with China are "substantial and real,” citing the “theft or forced transfer of intellectual property; lack of bilateral investment rights, giving ownership or control of investments; onerous non-tariff barriers; unfair subsidies or benefits for state-owned enterprises; and the lack of rapid enforcement of any disagreements.”

During his conversation with Yahoo Finance, Dimon listed some of the positives in the U.S. economy, including a "very strong" consumer, high consumer confidence, a “good” balance sheet, growing household formation, and rising wages on the low end.

[See Also: Jamie Dimon: Student lending in the U.S. is a 'disgrace' and it's 'hurting America']

Meanwhile, business confidence has been “very high,” but it's "been rattled a bit" by trade, he added.

"So, we've seen a little bit, as business confidence drop, business investment drop, people worried about supply lines, and I think that may be hampering the economy a little bit, so it's kind of a tale of two cities."

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.