JPMorgan Chase (JPM) boss Jamie Dimon has praised last year’s tax reforms in his latest annual letter to shareholders.
In the letter, Dimon described Congress’s reform as a “historic” step that “shows that we can take on tough issues that have been holding us back.”
“Along with a more constructive regulatory and business environment and our strong business performance, this reform has led our company to recently announce a $20 billion, five-year comprehensive investment to help its employees while supporting job and local economic growth in the United States,” the CEO wrote.
Interestingly, Dimon did not name President Donald Trump when hailing the reform he signed. The only time he referred to the president by name was when he noted Trump’s rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major international free trade deal that is going ahead without the U.S. under the guise of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
“The United States should revisit the Trans-Pacific Partnership and fix the parts considered unfair. The TPP could be an excellent economic and strategic agreement between America and its allies, particularly Asia,” Dimon wrote.
He also referred to the U.S.’s threats of unilateral trade action against China, recommending that the White House figure out what it wants from China, listen to China’s own complaints, talk to American allies and set out a clear timeline for action.
Dimon may have previously expressed disagreement with certain White House policies, but he has largely refrained from criticizing Trump, saying last year that, as the president, he is “the pilot flying our airplane.” He publicly rebuked Trump over the Charlottesville clashes, but that was a fairly isolated incident.
“We need a pro-growth policy environment from the government that provides a degree of certainty around longstanding issues that have proved frustratingly elusive to solve,” Dimon wrote in the new letter. “The most pressing areas where government, business and other stakeholders can find common ground should include tax reform, infrastructure investment, education reform, more favorable trade agreements and a sensible immigration policy.”
