BlackRock CEO: "The U.S. is very close to, if not already in, a recession"

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, said Friday on national television that the United States is reaching (or has already reached) a recession resulting from a weakening economy and uncertainty in the markets following the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.

"I think we’re very close to, if not in, a recession now," Fink said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street program.

According to the CEO of the world's largest investment fund, since President Trump announced the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on 180 countries and territories, uncertainty reigned in the stock markets and his own clients, who began to show serious concerns about how to protect their assets.

According to Fink, the 90-day tariff pause announced by President Trump only contributes to even more uncertainty.

“I think you’re going to see, across the board, just a slowdown until there’s more certainty. And we now have a 90-day reprieve on the reciprocal tariffs — that means longer, more elevated uncertainty,” Fink said.

The BlackRock CEO's words join, for example, the forecast of JPMorgan, Wall Street's largest bank, which projected that the U.S. would enter technical recession by the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

For its part, Goldman Sachs raised its recession risk estimate to 45%, citing the adverse effects of tariffs on economic growth and inflation. Other major financial institutions, such as Citi, also adjusted their growth projections following the imposition of tariffs.