The Government of Mexico, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, is seeking to defuse the threat of a 5% tariff on Mexican products imposed by the United States. This measure, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump, is due to the alleged non-compliance by the Latin American country with the water delivery stipulated in the 1944 Binational Treaty. The Mexican leader expressed optimism about the outcome of the negotiations, which will take place during a virtual bilateral meeting scheduled for this afternoon. "I am convinced that, as on other occasions, we are going to reach an agreement for the benefit of the United States and for the benefit of Mexico," Sheinbaum stated during her morning conference at the National Palace. Mexico's proposal and the reasons for the delay Sheinbaum announced that the Mexican delegation will present a series of concrete proposals to ensure the delivery of the pending water before the end of December and during the next year. The controversy intensified after Trump accused Mexico of owing more than 800,000 acre-feet of water, severely affecting, according to the U.S. leader, the agriculture and livestock of his country. In this context, Mexico has worked in coordination with the governments of the border states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Chihuahua. In this afternoon's dialogue table, officials from the Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE), the National Water Commission (Conagua), and the International Boundary and Water Commission will participate. Key fact: The 1944 Treaty obligates Mexico to deliver a total of 2,185 million cubic meters of water from the Rio Grande in five-year cycles. Trump set a deadline of December 31, 2025, for Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet, with the remainder to be delivered shortly thereafter. The president attributed the difficulties in meeting the quotas to two main factors: An "extraordinary" drought recorded between 2022 and 2023. Limitations in the infrastructure of the pipeline that transports the vital liquid to the Rio Grande on the shared border. Willingness to dialogue and the framework of the agreement Mexico reaffirms its willingness to protect the right to water of its communities and, at the same time, seeks a balance that satisfies the agricultural needs on both sides of the border. The country has a pending debt of 1,000 million cubic meters and seeks to repay it in the next cycle, ensuring that it has acted in accordance with the treaty by delivering one-third of the runoff from six tributaries of the Rio Grande. In exchange, the country receives 1,850 million cubic meters of water from the Colorado River annually. According to Roberto Velasco, Undersecretary for North America of the SRE, Mexico has only delivered about one-third of what is stipulated for the current cycle.
