The tricky symbolism of a new international bridge

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Kimberly Adams** (0:31)
A new path for U.S.-Canada trade, but at the same time as new tariffs. From Marketplace in Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams. Today, the Gordie Howe International Bridge opens to traffic for the first time. The structure connects the United States to Canada, with one end in Detroit, Michigan, and the other in Windsor, Ontario. It's supposed to be a boost to the economies of both countries, but the opening comes during a time of increased trade tension, with the US proposing new tariffs on certain Canadian goods. Marketplace's Stephanie Hughes has more.

**Stephanie Hughes** (1:04)
Joanne Couture has been driving a truck for 32 years. She's based in Ontario and crosses the US-Canadian border multiple times a week. I caught her during a break from hauling a delivery of soybean oil.
She told me she is pumped to have the Gordie Howe Bridge as an option for future drives.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:22)
It will be faster, it will be less congestion, different people will go to different bridges.

**Stephanie Hughes** (1:27)
An economic analysis of the Gordie Howe estimates the new bridge will save truck drivers 850,000 hours annually. Couture owns and operates her own truck driving business and says for her, that could translate to an additional 3-5 percent each year in revenue.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:42)
There's going to be a line up, but a half hour line up versus a three hour line up is two and a half hours of making money time that I don't lose in my day.

**Stephanie Hughes** (1:52)
When trucks are running on time, that helps everyone else stay productive, says Jason Miller, a Michigan State Professor who studies supply chain management.

**Jason Miller** (2:00)
That reduces the chance that a factory could run out of parts because, hey, a truck gets delayed two or three hours on the bridge and you're basically at a standstill which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour.

**Stephanie Hughes** (2:11)
However, Miller says this reduction in friction is being counteracted by the tariffs both countries have in place. In 2025, the US exported fewer goods to Canada than the year before and imported fewer as well.
So even if it's a smoother ride across the border, we still have to want to buy each other stuff. I'm Stephanie Hughes from Marketplace.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:47)
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Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's odoo.com.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:17)
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**Kimberly Adams** (4:12)
The number of students admitted to PhD programs this coming fall dropped by 15% from last year according to the Association of American Universities Data Exchange. This comes after the Trump administration terminated thousands of research grants last year and is proposing massive cuts to federal research agencies. With all those cuts, universities aren't sure what their budgets will look like in the coming years, which makes it more difficult to take on doctoral students. For more, we're joined by Toby Smith, Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy at the Association of American Universities. Good morning.