Jamie Dimon talks tariffs: ‘Get over it’

CEO of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon In a new interview, he said that the small increase in inflation caused by the Trump administration’s tariff plans would be worthwhile in serving national security concerns.

Dimon appeared CNBC’s Squawk Box and said that tariffs are an economic tool that can be used for a variety of reasons, and that while they may cause inflation, it would be acceptable if it helped the US achieve national security goals.

“I look at tariffs, they’re an economic tool, they’re an economic weapon, depending on how you use it, why you use it, things like that,” Dimon said.

“People argue whether it is inflationary or not, I would put it in perspective: if it is a little bit inflationary, but it is good for national security, so be it.” In other words, get over it. National security wins a bit. a little more inflation,” he said.

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Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, said inflation caused by tariffs to boost national security would be acceptable. (via Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua/Getty Images)

Dimon went on to say that as the Trump administration could use tariffs pursuing more favorable terms of trade or addressing national security issues is more important than whether they will cause inflation.

“But I think the question is, how do they get used to it? Can they be used to put people at the table? Yes, is there any unfair trade, is there any government subsidies?” yes, the president is preparing. Use it that way, and his team, yeah, and we’ll see how that goes, we’ll find out,” Dimon said.

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President Trump campaigned on sweeping tariff plans. (Bill Puliano/Getty Images)

president Donald Trump has campaigned for blanket tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports, as well as tariffs as high as 60% on imports from China.

Although he hasn’t implemented the tariffs in his first two days in office, Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that he plans to start. 10% customs duty for China which will come into force from the beginning of February.

“We’re talking about a 10% tariff on China based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump said. “Probably February 1 is the date we’re looking at.”

TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA.

President Trump has announced that he is going to start with 10% tariffs on China. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/via AFP/Getty Images)

After taking office on Monday, Trump also signed an executive order titled “America First Trade Policy,” which directed the Commerce and Treasury departments to investigate the causes and risks of the annual trade deficit and make recommendations on tariffs to correct the trade deficit.

The executive order also directed those agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to design and implement Trump’s “Foreign Revenue Service (ERS) to collect tariffs, duties and other revenues related to foreign trade.”

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Trump intends for the ERS to collect tariff revenue from foreign sources, but economic experts have pushed back on that goal, noting that the U.S. importers pay tariffs when their imported goods enter the country. Those duties are currently collected by US Customs and Border Protection, a subset of DHS.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.