Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and continuing uncertainty over US trade policy are increasingly affecting everyday consumers and global agricultural markets, according to experts speaking at a recent media briefing at the Port of Los Angeles.

The briefing, attended by Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka and Jerrold D. Green, senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, focused on how conflict, disrupted shipping routes, and unpredictable tariff measures are creating new pressures far beyond ports and cargo terminals.

Green warned that instability in the Middle East is no longer a regional issue, but one with broad political and economic consequences worldwide.

"It seems to me that the economic consequences of this will have profound political consequences," Green said. "There's no certainty … it's very, very hard."

He said that while businesses had briefly welcomed signs of relief after a US Supreme Court decision on tariffs, renewed tensions in the Middle East have pushed the global economy back into what he described as "a land of uncertainty," making long-term planning difficult for companies, investors and consumers alike.

For households, that uncertainty is already showing up in higher prices. Seroka said inflation may have slowed from previous peaks, but the cost of many essentials remains elevated.

According to research cited at the briefing, coffee prices are up more than 10 percent from a year earlier. Furniture, footwear, bananas and chocolate have also risen by double digits, as these products rely heavily on international supply chains and imported inputs. Healthcare, education and grocery bills also remain under pressure.

"While some experts have said inflation kind of goes away, well, the prices are still elevated," Seroka said.

He added that rising fuel and energy costs are becoming a daily concern for residents and workers across Southern California.

"It's front of mind for everybody — from the line in the grocery store, to getting a cup of coffee this morning in town," Seroka said, noting that diesel prices in Los Angeles have climbed above $7 per gallon ($1.85 per liter), with some reports approaching $8 per gallon.

That surge is hitting truckers particularly hard. More than half of the roughly 1,100 licensed truckers serving the port complex are small businesses with five trucks or fewer, making them especially vulnerable to sustained fuel-price shocks.

Beyond consumer prices, speakers said geopolitical and trade tensions are also reshaping agricultural commerce, particularly trade between the United States and China.

Seroka noted that China has diversified its sourcing, with soybeans increasingly supplied by Brazil and Argentina under longer-term contracts.

"Soybeans are now going to China from Brazil and Argentina, and have been doing so for the better part of the last year," Seroka said. "We'll have to wait some time before China puts out to bid new soybean contracts, because they're tied up right now."

He said the impact extends beyond soybeans. California agricultural exports such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios are also facing stronger competition in overseas markets.

"Almonds are moving out of Australia … we're feeling the brunt of these policies," Seroka said.

From a broader perspective, Green emphasized that the global economy remains deeply interconnected, and that attempts to view national economies in isolation can backfire.

"It's a very, very integrated, complex global system. We're not an autarky," Green said. "We are inextricably linked to our trading partners, our allies and our friends in every dimension."

He cautioned that even if one country performs better in the short term, weakness among major partners eventually feeds back through trade, investment and supply chains.

"To think about the national economy … and not think more broadly about the global economy, can create problems all their own," he said, adding that economic imbalances among key partners tend to "come back and bite us."

Green also highlighted the impact on travel and services, noting that major aviation hubs such as Dubai and Doha serve as essential connectors between Europe, South Asia and Africa.

Any renewed disruption there, he said, would affect not only freight but the movement of people for business, tourism and family ties.

"This really is an important part of the world, and the implications are global. Everything is being touched by this," Green said.