Global ties vital as geopolitical risks reshape Los Angeles business

Los Angeles businesses are operating in a period of structurally higher geopolitical risk, but the region's deep economic connections with China and other Asian markets make international engagement increasingly important to its competitiveness, business and city leaders said.

Adam Barbina, US geostrategy leader at EY-Parthenon, told the State of LA Business 2026 gathering that political volatility, economic competition, technological rivalry and supply-chain disruptions have become lasting features of the global business environment.

"So today we are in a structurally higher risk environment than we were before," Barbina said.

He described Los Angeles as "one of the most globally connected cities and regions in the world", making it particularly exposed to global disruptions while also positioning the region to benefit from international trade and investment.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking in a fireside conversation with LA Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Maria Salinas, echoed the importance of viewing the city through a global lens.

"Looking at the macro picture and looking at geopolitics is something that is extremely important to me," Bass told the gathering.

She said LA does not always fully recognize the significance of its position as the second-largest US city or its influence internationally.

"I don't think we see ourselves as the nation's second-largest city, and we most certainly don't understand our position on the world stage," Bass said.

That international role is particularly visible through the Port of LA, the nation's busiest container port and North America's largest trade gateway by container volume and value of trade.

Despite continued uncertainty surrounding tariffs and trade policy, the port handled more than 5.12 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, during the first six months of this year, 3 percent more than during the same period a year earlier. June itself was the busiest June in the port's history.

"Our port is a major, major asset, not just for the city, not just for the country, but for the world," Bass said.

Those connections are particularly important across the Pacific. Chinese mainland and Hong Kong remain the port's largest trading partner by cargo value, while Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also among its leading trade partners.

For a region whose ports, logistics networks, entertainment industry and technology sector are closely tied to Asia, geopolitical competition therefore presents a complicated challenge: how to strengthen economic resilience without losing the advantages created by international commerce and investment.

Bass said rapidly changing federal trade policies have added uncertainty for businesses, but Los Angeles sought to prepare rather than simply react.

"You can predict the uncertainty," she said, adding that political rhetoric itself can create turbulence even before policies are implemented.

She said advance planning and coordination between the mayor's office and the port helped LA navigate those fluctuations.

Los Angeles' global profile is set to become even more prominent as it prepares to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The scale of the Games will require extensive coordination across transportation, public safety, infrastructure, tourism and business operations. Both business and city leaders said the preparations also offer Los Angeles an opportunity to strengthen its global profile and create a lasting economic and civic legacy beyond the Games themselves.

Bass linked preparations for major global events with the need for Los Angeles to think more strategically about its place in the world.

Barbina said companies should not expect to accurately forecast every geopolitical shock. Citing an EY survey of about 1,000 global executives, he said 40 percent reported that they had failed to correctly anticipate the scenarios confronting their organizations.

"My job here is not to say that I want you to predict the best scenario," Barbina said. "It's to build the capability in your organizations to be able to recover faster."

Rather than treating resilience as an abstract goal, he urged business leaders to focus on a more practical measure and how quickly their organizations can recover when disruption occurs.

Companies also need clear internal responsibility for geopolitical risks, he said, including determining who tracks international developments and who has authority to respond when conditions change.

Barbina identified economic and technological competition as another structural force reshaping business decisions, particularly between the United States and China.

"The competition is over tech, it's over AI and it's over data," he said.

Competition increasingly involves artificial intelligence models, digital infrastructure and decisions by governments over which technologies companies and countries can use, he said.

But Barbina emphasized that greater government involvement in strategic industries is not limited to China and the US. Governments in Europe, Southeast Asia and elsewhere are also using industrial policies to strengthen supply chains, encourage domestic production and attract investment.

"We are in this cycle where there's more intervention," he said, adding that can create opportunities as well as risks.

The traditional dividing line between national security and commercial policy is also disappearing, Barbina said.

"When we grew up, we thought about national security as defense," he said. "Today, the environment is different. Economic security equals national security, and that means all of you."

Artificial intelligence, critical minerals, telecommunications networks, energy, financial systems and supply chains are increasingly regarded as strategic assets.

For internationally connected businesses, that means decisions can no longer be based solely on efficiency and cost. Companies increasingly have to consider geopolitical exposure, technology restrictions and the resilience of suppliers and transportation routes.

Barbina said geopolitical fragmentation is unlikely to disappear soon.

"We know that geopolitical fragmentation is here, we know that it's unlikely for this cycle to end in the next five to 10 years," he said, noting innovation, resilience and growth as three priorities for businesses navigating that environment.