'We're headed for nuclear economic winter': Top US business leaders flag risks of Trump's policies

As stock markets plunge to their lowest point in years, top US business leaders have started to flag President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

Since last week, when Trump rolled out the most sweeping tariffs in nearly a century, the Dow Jones has fallen 8.75 per cent, the S&P 500 9.9 per cent, and Nasdaq 10.6 per cent. Just today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 7.83 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 13.22 per cent.

Trump imposed 10 per cent tariffs on all imports and slapped higher tariffs on a select group of countries. He slapped Vietnam with 46 per cent tariffs, China with 34 per cent tariffs (on top of 20 per cent tariffs already in place), Taiwan with 32 per cent tariffs, India and South Korea with 26 per cent tariffs, Japan with 24 per cent tariffs, and European Union (EU) with 20 per cent tariffs.

Billionaire hedge fund Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump in the 2024 election, has warned that the United States is headed to a “economic nuclear winter” if Trump does not amend his tariffs policy. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has also warned that the current US policies “could inevitably weaken” America over time.

‘We’re headed for nuclear economic winter’

In a post on X, Ackman said that Trump has made his point that countries cannot treat the United States unfairly and should now declare a 90-day “time-out” period to negotiate trade deals with countries.

Such deals could “resolve unfair asymmetric tariff deals, and induce trillions of dollars of new investment in our country”, but the failure to do so would mean that “business confidence would fall and the United States would lose trade and investment”, said Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square.

If Trump’s tariffs are implemented as promised on April 9, “we launch economic nuclear war on every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocket-books, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate”, said Ackman.

“The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down,” said Ackman.

Tariffs & America First could weaken America, warns JPMorgan CEO

In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan CEO Dimon said that Trump’s tariffs and America First policies could weaken America over time, according to CNN.

Amid fears of a recession, Dimon said, “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”

JP Morgan has raised the risk of recession this year from 40 per cent to 60 per cent.

As for the America First policy, he flagged the risk of it turning into America Alone.

Dimon said, “America First is fine, as long as it doesn’t end up being America alone. If the Western world’s military and economic alliances were to fragment, America itself would inevitably weaken over time.”