Jamie Dimon is urging the U.S. and Europe to strike a far larger economic and free-trade deal, but only if Europe first delivers meaningful economic and military reforms. The JPMorgan Chase chief framed the proposal as a way to revive transatlantic business ties, strengthen security and give the West more leverage against autocratic pressure.
Dimon’s pitch
In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Dimon said Washington should offer Europe a major inducement: if the bloc carries out reforms that he considers crucial for security and resiliency, the U.S. would negotiate one large trade agreement. He described the payoff as a pact big enough to outweigh many of the current disputes between the two sides.
He said the agreement could also extend beyond Europe to friendly democracies including Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines. In his view, a seamless trading system would help the U.S. and its allies shape global trade rules rather than react to them.
Why Europe is central
Dimon singled out the European Union’s unfinished Capital Markets Union and Banking Union, both long-running efforts meant to deepen the bloc’s financial system and make capital easier to move across borders. He also pointed to the need to follow the recommendations of the Draghi report, which he linked to stronger competitiveness.
Beyond finance, he argued that Europe needs to improve its defense, manufacturing and energy independence. He said a Europe that can mobilize capital, scale innovative companies, consolidate defense production and reduce strategic dependencies would be a stronger economic partner and a more capable security partner.
A direct challenge to protectionism
The proposal cuts against the more protectionist approach now associated with the Trump administration. Washington’s relationships with major trade partners, including the European Union and Canada, have worsened as President Donald Trump has rolled out tariffs and used combative negotiating tactics.
Dimon’s call for a broad deal is notable because it pushes in the opposite direction: fewer barriers, wider market access and a more explicit attempt to bind the U.S. and its allies together. That makes the proposal as much geopolitical as commercial, especially at a time when trade policy is being used as leverage.
What it would mean for business
For companies, a larger transatlantic framework could matter most in sectors that rely on cross-border capital, supply chains and regulatory certainty. Dimon’s emphasis on capital markets, banking and defense production suggests he sees Europe’s fragmented structures as a brake on investment and scale.
He also argued that a stronger Europe would stand as a more effective counterweight to Beijing’s economic power. That makes the issue bigger than tariffs or market access: it is about whether the U.S. and Europe can still act as a coordinated economic bloc in a more contested global order.
Dimon’s broader message
This is not the first time Dimon has criticized Europe’s economic trajectory. Last year, speaking to European business and political leaders in Ireland, he said that compared with the U.S. and Asia, Europe was losing ground. His latest comments keep that pressure on the continent’s leaders to move faster on reform.
He also said the U.S. must work to remain the world’s pre-eminent military and economic power, while renewing the American dream and American values. In his telling, bold reforms in Europe and a renewed U.S. commitment to alliances would together produce a stronger West for the next 250 years.
Takeaway: Dimon is using Europe’s reform agenda to argue for a much larger U.S.-Europe economic compact, casting trade, security and industrial policy as one strategic package.
