Trump Supporter, Billionaire Bill Ackman Warns of 'Economic Nuclear Winter' Due to Tariffs

In order to avoid "a self-induced economic nuclear winter", a billionaire supporter of Donald Trump, Bill Ackman, has urged the US president to halt his newly announced trade penalties. The president should give nations three months to reconsider their trade agreements with the United States, according to hedge fund investor Ackman. Other well-known Wall Street personalities reiterated Ackman's warning on March 7. Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, stated that Trump's tariffs run the risk of raising costs for Americans. The White House has hurried to describe speculation that the US president may halt fresh tariffs as "fake news".

Ackman stated in a post on X that if the new taxes are implemented, corporate investment will stop, and customers will stop spending money. He further added that America will suffer significant harm to its standing with the rest of the globe, which may take years or even decades to repair.

Global Economy Taken a Massive Hit

Trump already imposed a 10% base duty on all US imports of products on 5 April, and dozens of economies are preparing for even higher tariffs beginning on 9 April. Major US trading partners China and the European Union are among those hardest-hit nations. They will be subject to increased levies of 34% and 20%, respectively. In an annual letter to shareholders, Dimon stated that the new tariffs are making many people think that there is a higher chance of a recession and would probably raise inflation. He went on to say that while it's unclear if the tariff option will lead to a recession, it will hamper GDP. In a post on X on April 7, billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, the founder of the investment firm Duquesne Family Office, stated that he opposed tariffs higher than 10%. Fisher Investments' founder and executive chairman, billionaire Ken Fisher, later in the day remarked on X that Trump's announcement on 2nd April was foolish, incorrect, rudely extreme, uninformed in terms of trade, and using the wrong instruments to solve a non-issue. He commented further that as far as he can tell, though, it will fade and fail, and the fear outweighs the issue; therefore, he is bullish. Although he usually stays out of the public eye when it comes to presidential activities, Fisher pointed out that Trump is far outside the pale when it comes to tariffs.

Musk Hoping for ‘Zero Tariff Situation’

Even Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a leading Trump supporter, expressed his hope on 6 April for a "zero-tariff situation" between the US and Europe. During a video connection chat with Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy, Musk expressed his desire to see a successful "free-trade zone" established between North America and Europe. Simon MacAdam, deputy chief global economist at consulting firm Capital Economics, echoed Ackman. He stated that companies were likely to postpone investments because of the uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policies. He stated that a person operating a mid-sized or even large-cap company will be really unsure of what to do. Speaking to a media outlet, he stated that entrepreneurs would be burning their time and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars on new plants in the United States if those tariffs were to be lowered again in a few months.