JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday that the U.S. should offer Europe a sweeping free trade agreement as an inducement for the continent to overhaul its economy and strengthen its defenses.
“I believe the U.S. should offer Europe a major inducement: If it executes meaningful economic and military reforms, including everything that we consider crucial for security and resiliency, the U.S. will negotiate one big, beautiful economic and free-trade agreement with Europe,” Dimon wrote. He added that such a pact could be extended to Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines.
Dimon described seamless trade ties as a “game changer” that would allow the U.S. and its allies to “set the global rules on trade” and bind Western democracies together “in the face of autocratic pressure.” The proposal stands in contrast to the tariffs and protectionist posture the Trump administration has pursued toward many of the same trading partners.
The op-ed pointed to specific reforms Europe must undertake as a precondition. Dimon called on the European Union to complete its long-stalled Capital Markets Union and Banking Union, which he said would unlock investment for strategic industries and allow more European banks to compete globally. He also pressed Europe to act on the combined body of reform proposals contained in two 2024 reports authored by former Italian Prime Ministers Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi, pointing out that implementation has barely scratched the surface, with under 16% of the measures adopted.
“A Europe that can mobilize capital, scale innovative companies, consolidate defense production, reduce strategic dependencies and generate stronger growth would be a more capable security partner, a more resilient economic partner and a stronger counterweight to Beijing’s economic power,” Dimon wrote.
He acknowledged the proposal faces political headwinds, noting that earlier efforts at trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific trade deals collapsed in the 2010s amid public opposition over job losses and wage pressures. He insisted that any new agreement must be paired with robust support measures for workers and industries caught in the crossfire of trade shifts.
Dimon also argued the U.S. must focus on its own economic foundations, writing that America should aim to grow 3% annually and that GDP per person would be $20,000 higher today had that rate been sustained over the past two decades.
“A renewed commitment to American values and alliances coupled with bold reforms by Europe would be a geopolitical and economic home run, guaranteeing the Western world’s strength for the next 250 years,” he wrote.