Trump threatens tariffs on Mexico if it does not respect agreement on water supply

US President Trump is threatening new tariffs on Mexico if it does not supply more water to the US under agreements reached between the two countries. "Mexico continues to violate our global water treaty, and this violation is severely harming our beautiful Texas crops and ranches," Donald Trump wrote. According to the president, Mexico still owes about 1 billion cubic metres of water (800 thousand acre-feet) for not complying with the agreement over the past five years and the US needs to have 250million cubic metres by 31 December (200 thousand acre-feet) 'and the rest must come soon after'. On his own profile, Trump announced that he had already authorised the imposition of a 5% tariffs on Mexico if the requested water 'is not released immediately'.

The problem is, precisely, tensions over water supplies for farmers in South Texas. The US State Department said last month that officials from the two countries had met to discuss measures Mexico could take to 'reduce water supply shortages and ensure compliance with regulations'.

The agreement, signed in 1944, concerns the sharing between the US and Mexico of water from the rivers that cross the common border between the two countries and obliges Washington to supply 1.85 billion cubic metres of the Colorado River and Mexico 432 million cubic metres of the Rio Bravo.

The US president has already imposed tariffs on Mexican imports into the US not covered by the USMCA trade agreement negotiated during his first term, tariffs that he said were intended to pressure the country to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.

Mexican officials have sought a deal with Trump to lower taxes on imports, with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum meeting with him last week at the World Cup draw in Washington.