Trump threatens Mexico with fresh tariffs over water dispute
"The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our farmers are hurt," he said
US President Donald Trump on Monday (8 December) threatened to impose an additional 5% tariff on Mexico, alleging that it is violating a water-sharing treaty.
"I have authorised documentation to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico if this water is not released immediately," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, saying crops and livestock in Texas were being severely affected.
He accused Mexico of violating a 1944 treaty under which the United States shares water from the Colorado River in exchange for flows from the Rio Grande, which forms part of the border between the two countries.
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Trump said Mexico owed 800,000 acre-feet of water to the United States under the treaty and demanded that it "release 200,000 acre-feet of water before 31 December, and the rest must come soon after."
"The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our farmers are hurt," he added.
The move to boost water supplies for Texas farmers came on the same day the 79-year-old president announced a $12 billion aid package for the US agriculture industry, which has been rocked by the fallout from his trade and tariff policies.
Trump had previously threatened Mexico with economic repercussions in April over the water dispute, prompting Mexico at the time to send water immediately and to "continue fulfilling its commitments under the 1944 treaty."
Mexican goods currently face a 25% tariff unless they fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free trade deal struck during Trump's first term that Washington aims to renegotiate in 2026.
Trump met his Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum last week on the sidelines of the 2026 World Cup draw, along with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to discuss the future of the trade deal.
The talks marked the first in-person meeting between Trump and Sheinbaum.
