O’Leary: ‘I haven’t seen any recessionary trends yet’

Investor Kevin O’Leary said he hasn’t seen any “recessionary trends” from President Trump’s tariff plan yet.

O’Leary made an appearance on Fox News and was asked by Trey Gowdy about recent polling that showed Americans see a recession on the horizon.

“I haven’t seen any recessionary trends yet,” O’Leary said. “A lot of it has to do with job [owners] being scared about what these tariffs are going to do.”

Trump’s tariffs on auto imports are set to go into place Wednesday, and he’s also noted that additional tariffs, which are “larger than currently planned,” could go into effect for Canada and the European Union.

Trump has called April 2 “Liberation Day,” indicating when his administration will impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on other countries. It’s highlighting what will be a critical week for Trump’s economic agenda.

The investor noted that if the tariffs stay in place for a long period of time, then there would be a larger threat of a recession due to price increases and inflation.

“But, I don’t think that’s the case,” O’Leary said. “I’m in a camp that says this is a giant, very complex negotiation across 15 different countries.”

O’Leary argued that he believes other countries will be incentivized to cut a deal with the U.S. when the tariffs go into place.

“I think you have to take the noise away from the signal. The signal is pretty good in the economy right now,” he said. “Let’s see what happens over the next two to three months on this tariff stuff.”