WASHINGTON — A plan to reconcile the year-long trade dispute between the U.S. and Mexico is on its way, says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"We are very near a proposal that we feel will meet all of the safety concerns that I heard when I talked to 25 members of Congress," LaHood told a Senate Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing on Thursday.

After Bush’s Mexican truck demonstration project was cancelled by the Obama administration last year, the Mexican government slapped $2.4 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

Congress and the Dot have been under pressure to reinstate the program, or something similar, ever since.

The program, which was under attack from unions and special interest groups from the start, allowed select Mexican carriers to cross the American border beyond the longstanding 25-mile restriction zone.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairman of the subcommittee stressed that the issue was "critical," and asked LaHood to tell those working on the proposal that "we need to get this done."

She was especially concerned over the tariffs Mexico has imposed. "These tariffs are going to send American jobs north to Canada," she said.

LaHood said that the plan has been hung up by various levels of government. "Every time we make a tweak or a change, everybody has to sign off on it."