• CNBC's Jim Cramer believes a recession is likely, but that investors shouldn't panic.
• President Donald Trump can roll back his new tariffs and ease Wall Street's fears whenever he wants, Cramer said.
• The current economic moment isn't comparable to the institutional weakness that sparked the Great Recession, he added.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said on Monday that although he believes an economic recession is on the horizon, investors should stay the course rather than panic and sell.

President Donald Trump's new tariffs continued to roil stocks on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting a record-high intraday swing of 2,595 points before closing down about 350 points. The S&P 500 closed 0.2% lower, while the Nasdaq ended the day with a 0.1% gain.

Cramer said the tariffs represent "real trouble" for the U.S. economy, but that he doesn't expect a second Great Recession because institutions are still strong.

"We don't believe that the whole economic system's in jeopardy. We don't believe that major banks will fail. We definitely don't like the situation, for heaven's sake, and it's likely we're headed for a recession because of the president's ill-advised plans. But we'll pull out of it one way or another," Cramer said.

Trump could reverse the stock market jitters with the stroke of a pen, Cramer said, adding that a willingness to negotiate is key. If the president's focus is more on punishing China and forcing manufacturing to return to the U.S. than it is on retooling trade relations, investors may have a "real problem," Cramer cautioned.

Ultimately, Cramer said, Trump will have to simultaneously keep inflation in check, quickly negotiate new trade deals and maintain the employment rate in order for his tariffs to pay off — a difficult tightrope to walk.

"I think if he doesn't get all three, he isn't going to press his bet with these tariffs. Instead, he'll find some reason to declare victory and roll them back, which is why the market didn't collapse today," Cramer said.

Therefore, Cramer concluded, investors shouldn't completely panic and sell off at the moment. The market may not have hit a bottom yet, but plenty of stocks are down enough that they may present buying opportunities, he added.

The White House didn't immediately return a CNBC request for comment.

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