A final showdown: tariffs vs longevity

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And then there were two.

We’ve narrowed down our business-focused March Madness bracket to a championship showdown: tariffs vs. longevity.

Before we get into it, let’s recap how we got here. After starting off with eight business trends, we narrowed it down to a final four last week. Nearly 300 of you voted this round, and the appetite for underdogs continued.

Let’s check the results:

Note: The voting percentages are in brackets.

[61.6%] Tariffs (5) defeats [38.4%] SaaSpocalypse (1): Down goes the top seed! And to be honest, it wasn’t that close.

[60.4%] Longevity (6) defeats [39.6%] Robotics (7): You don’t want to pull the plug on humans yet, but all bets are off for the robots.

Which brings us to the final: Tariffs (5) vs Longevity (6).

So what should we make of this showdown? Interestingly, both have a direct impact on everyday people across all walks of life and massive implications for the wider business world.

The ongoing tariff drama has meant consumers have been swallowing higher prices for a while. It’s been almost exactly a year since this all kicked off on Liberation Day last April. Now things are heating up again. The Supreme Court’s ruling striking down some of Trump’s tariffs has opened up the door for refunds.

(Think you’re due one? More on that here.)

And longevity is about all about, well, living longer. That’s something almost everyone is interested in, so it’s no surprise it’s a reader favorite.

Both are also massively impactful on the business side.

The addition (or removal) of these taxes has an ongoing effect on supply chains and companies of all sizes. A lot remains up in the air, but hoping they’ll disappear entirely seems highly unlikely (at least under this administration).

For longevity, there’s no shortage of businesses looking to convince you they can keep you ticking longer. There are also secondary effects. Now that you’re living longer, what does it mean for everything from your finances to your home to your healthcare?

What I’m trying to say is, you all did a great job picking two finalists.

Now finish the job and decide who wins it all.