The chief strategist at JPMorgan's $1.7 trillion funds arm reveals the '3 most dangerous words in economics' — and explains why they're putting a chokehold on global growth

David Kelly, the chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said the global economy is slowing because businesses are delaying decisions, particularly around manufacturing.“'Wait and see' are the three most dangerous words in economics,” he said.Kelly said he expected growth to expand at a rate of just 2% this year, down from 3% in 2018.Businesses are facing no shortage of global uncertainty, and their hesitance is slowing down the economy.That was the argument made by David Kelly, the chief global strategist at $1.7 trillion JPMorgan Asset Management, at a media event on Wednesday. The economist highlighted how the Trump administration's tariff decisions affect companies' manufacturing decisions.Kelly said executives were asking questions like “Should I build a plant in Peoria, or should I build it in Mexico, or should I build it in Malaysia？”“It depends who we put tariffs on and what they do in retaliation,” he said.The effect of that uncertainty is often inaction.Sign up here for our weekly newsletter Wall Street Insider, a behind-the-scenes look at the stories dominating banking, business, and big deals.“What do businesses do？ It sounds very prudent: They say, 'Let's just wait and see,'” Kelly said. “The problem is 'wait and see' are the three most dangerous words in economics. When everyone decides to wait and see, what they see is not good. That's slowing the global economy down.”Kelly's pessimism around the subject is reflected in his forecasts. He said he expected US economic growth to drop to 2% this year, down from 3% in 2018.See more: The chief strategist at JPMorgan's $1.7 trillion funds arm says 2 types of investors are sending the market swinging wildlyKelly isn't alone in his concerns about how tariffs affect the economy. In The Wall Street Journal's December survey of economists, nearly half — the highest percentage of any threat — cited the back-and-forth tariff fight between the US and China as the top threat to the economy in 2019.In the fall, a survey from The Business Roundtable, a lobbying group, found that nearly two-thirds of CEOs said tariffs and future trade tension would negatively affect their capital-investment decisions over the next six months.However, those frustrated with the trade war's effect on growth got a positive signal in late February when President Donald Trump tweeted that he would delay the increase in US tariffs scheduled for March 1 as the US made “substantial progress” in trade talks with China.Read more:Trump calls himself 'Tariff Man' during raging tweetstorm on China trade war, and the stock market tanksStock markets are soaring after Trump delays tariffs on Chinese goodsA JPMorgan heavyweight who advises a $1.7 trillion business explains why investors should look outside the US — and pinpoints the markets they should targetInvestors are struggling to spend the $240 billion poured into private credit funds in the last 2 years. A top JPMorgan exec says these 3 areas still have value