【By Observer Net, Juan Jiaqi】

According to the Financial Times and 11 other reports, on July 10th, during an event hosted by the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, bluntly warned in front of Irish officials and business leaders that the EU has serious competitiveness risks and is "losing the race" in the competition with China and the US.

The CEO of the world's largest bank clearly pointed out that the EU has lost its advantage compared to the US and faces a lack of globally competitive enterprises.

"Over the past 10 to 15 years, Europe's share of the US GDP has dropped from 90% to 65%, which is not good," Dimon reiterated, "You're losing (You're losing)."

He continued, "We (the US) have a large and strong market, with large companies performing well, having the huge scale of globalization. You once had these advantages, but now they are becoming weaker and weaker."

According to the Fortune magazine website, Dimon attributed this decline to structural issues, urging European policymakers to take bold actions to reverse the trend, and added that the EU currently faces significant problems in economic competitiveness.

Dimon believes the best opportunity for Europe to enhance competitiveness lies in building a truly unified, cross-industry, seamless internal market. In his speech, he also cited a report on EU competitiveness written by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank and former Italian Prime Minister, emphasizing that if Europe wants to rebuild its global economic position, deepening integration is crucial.

In this 400-page report, Draghi warned that if the EU wants to keep up with China and the US economically, it must have more coordinated industrial policies, faster decision-making, and larger investments. To ensure competitiveness with China and the US, the EU needs to invest between 75 billion to 80 billion euros (approximately 580 billion to 620 billion RMB) annually, which accounts for as high as 5% of GDP. This is even far higher than the Marshall Plan after World War II, which accounted for 1% to 2% of the EU's GDP, and the EU must take action in multiple areas.

The Financial Times commented that Dimon's remarks were sharper than his speech at the annual shareholders' meeting in April. At that time, he only said that "Europe has some serious problems that need to be solved," and urged European countries to make major reforms to achieve growth. As one of the most influential voices in the global financial field, Dimon's comments highlight the severe challenges the EU faces in boosting its economy.

Photo: Jamie Dimon, screenshot from U.S. media video

Dimon also emphasized the importance of transatlantic cooperation. He said at the meeting: "It's fine to prioritize the US, but it shouldn't become 'US isolation.'"

He called for the quick conclusion of a new EU-US tariff framework and warned that escalating trade barriers could have significant negative impacts, especially for export-driven economies like Ireland, such as the recent threats by the Trump administration to impose additional tariffs on copper, Brazilian imports, and pharmaceutical products.

According to the Irish Independent, at the same event, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Trade Simon Harris called on the EU and the US to accelerate the negotiation process for a new trade agreement, saying that reaching an agreement quickly would end "unprecedented uncertainty."

He also stated that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the EU-US agreement, believing it would eventually succeed.

However, Dimon warned that negotiations still face multiple challenges, one of which is the limited ability of the US government to handle dozens of independent negotiations with trade partners, and these negotiations involve complex trade issues.

"I think the US trade department has only 400 people, and completing a trade agreement would require 400 people working all year long," he reminded.

Nevertheless, Dimon pointed out that unlike the Biden era, the current US government has welcomed a group of professionals with business backgrounds.

He specifically mentioned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, saying, "She is smart, thoughtful, and hardworking. There are many capable people in this government, including those from the business sector, which is quite different from the Biden administration, which had no one from the business sector in its senior leadership. Not a single person." He also added that he had nothing to say about the previous administration's "lack of relevant awareness."

Additionally, Dimon made sharp criticisms of the DEI policies being pushed by the American left, criticizing "they have gone too far."

"I have many Democratic friends, and they are all idiots," he said, "I always say they have big hearts and little brains. They don't understand the logic of how the real world works, and almost every policy they put forward ends in failure."

When the conversation returned to the most closely watched economic and trade issues, when asked whether the record-high financial markets were being complacent about risks, Dimon gave a positive answer.

He warned that the financial markets underestimated the risks brought by US interest rate hikes and new tariffs. The market currently expects a 20% chance of further US interest rate hikes, but considering the inflationary pressures from tariffs, immigration policies, and ongoing fiscal deficits, he believed this probability should be 40% to 50%.

"Unfortunately, I think the market is overly optimistic, and people are somewhat desensitized," Dimon said.

Dimon also mentioned that Trump has indeed backed down from his most severe tariff threats so far, which has led to him being nicknamed "TACO deal" on Wall Street. "TACO" stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out."

But Dimon said he didn't like this term. In his view, Trump temporarily shelved most of his comprehensive tariff agenda to address market crises, and this "retreat" was actually correct.

Dimon defended him, saying that if the US economy weakens, Trump would face difficulties, "I think as soon as the US economy shows any signs of weakness, his days will be tough."

Regarding economic indicators, Dimon said outright that the current US economic data "is completely unreadable."

The US President has a two-term limit. When asked if Trump would seek a third term, Dimon said "it's too early to worry about it."

However, he thought that Vice President Vance would not agree to run with Trump. He joked, "He (Vance) would say: 'Hey, buddy, step aside. Your glory days are over!'"

Dimon also said that Trump might ultimately prefer his son Eric as a candidate. Although Dimon said he has no political ambitions, he also added, "If he (Trump) really does that, I might consider it (running)."

This article is an exclusive article from Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7525629732970906112/

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