Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday backed off additional inspections of vehicles from parts of Mexico as a conflict within the U.S. over immigration policy caused delays that threatened billions of dollars in international trade.

The extra checks Abbott introduced last week – which he said were meant to reduce crime and improve vehicle safety – increased the usual crossing times and led to long-term backlog A key port of entry along the more than 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border.

Truckers south of the border blocked some entry points in protest of onerous measures, adding to chaos and further jeopardizing supply chain already under pressure

At a news conference Wednesday with the Governor of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Samuel Garcia, Abbott said Texas would resume its previous practice of random inspections at shared ports of entry. Garcia said he has agreed that state police will continue to patrol parts of the border.

“The bridge from Nuevo Leon to Texas will now effectively return to normal immediately,” Abbott said.

By Wednesday afternoon, most of the lockdown appeared to be over. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said commercial traffic at the Farr International Bridge has resumed and the port of El Paso is operating normally.

Much of Texas’ southern border is shared with Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Chihuahua. Abbott said the governors had reached out to him and would begin talks as early as Thursday, signaling his intention to resolve the trade dispute piecemeal at the state level.

“I look forward to working with all of them to achieve results similar to what we achieved today with Governor Garcia,” he said, adding that additional inspections will be conducted in the meantime.

Abbott, who is up for re-election in November, has introduced additional checks in its domestic battle with the Democratic Biden administration over federal immigration policy. However, the border checks have drawn the ire of local Republican business leaders.

Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner, also protested that more than $440 billion in annual trade flows through the Texas point of entry were at risk.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Abbott’s measures were unnecessary and would hurt jobs and raise prices.

Trucks were still facing delays at the border crossing as the leaders spoke.

Industries from automakers to agriculture have been affected. Daniel Gudiño, chief executive of Mexican lime exporter SiCar Farms, said his company had citrus stuck at border crossings and risked spoiling.

“If this situation is prolonged, it will disrupt supply chains and inventories,” he said. “The end consumer will always be the most affected as prices will stay high or rise again.”

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