WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US business groups yesterday criticized President Barack Obama’s administration for its continued failure to resolve a cross-border trucking dispute that prompted Mexico to slap duties on about $2.4 billion worth of US exports nearly a year ago.

John Murphy, vice president for international policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, also criticized the administration for failing to prevent Brazil on Monday from announcing an estimated $591 million in new trade retaliation in a separate spat over the US cotton subsidies and export support.

“For the sake of American workers and farmers, we can’t allow a pattern to emerge in which Washington’s inaction on trade puts jobs at risk,” Murphy said.

The United States agreed to open its market to Mexican trucks as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but the US Teamsters union and many of its supporters in Congress have fought implementation of the pledge.

One year ago, Congress voted to cancel funding for a cross-border pilot program begun by former President George W. Bush’s administration that allowed Mexican long-haul trucks to circulate in the United States.

The move infuriated Mexico, which retaliated by imposing duties on US exports, including fruit, vegetables and industrial goods worth an estimated $2.4 billion.