Dimon: Dollar Reserve Status at Risk Without US Military Edge

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned the dollar could eventually lose its status as the world's reserve currency if the United States fails to sustain its military and economic strength.

"If we're not the strongest military in 25 years and the strongest economy, we won't be the reserve currency either," Dimon said on PBS' "Firing Line with Margaret Hoover," an interview that aired over the weekend. "The world will be fragmented, and it'll be very dangerous for us."

The dollar still accounts for roughly 57% of global foreign-exchange reserves, down from about 70% at the turn of the century. The freezing of Russian central-bank assets after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine stirred debate about whether financial sanctions could accelerate a shift away from the dollar. Federal Reserve research has found no measurable post-2022 move out of dollar reserves.

Dimon said the US should have recognized 10 or 15 years ago that it was relying on China for rare earths, aluminum, certain types of steel, and other equipment. "We can't rely on China for that, we can't allow mercantilist behavior, we need to do it here, we made a mistake," he said.

He pointed to the war in Iran as evidence of another vulnerability. "The war in Iran has pointed out we didn't have productive capability to defend the United States if there was a real war that lasted for a long period of time," Dimon said. "And that's a hell of a statement."

In October, JPMorgan launched a $1.5 trillion, 10-year Security and Resiliency Initiative targeting industries critical to US economic security: critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, energy, defense, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Dimon said at the time it had become "painfully clear" that the US was too reliant on unreliable sources for goods essential to national security.

JPMorgan shares, which carry an Alpha Score of 52, traded at $357.52, up 0.34%.