US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has authorized a 5% tariff on Mexico if it does not immediately release water. "That is why I have authorized the documentation to impose a 5 percent tariff on Mexico if it does not release the water immediately," Trump assured on Monday. The message replicates the situation from weeks ago: when Sheinbaum announced the return of slots to US air cargo companies, a few hours later the president told the press he was "not happy with Mexico." The scenario now repeats itself on a day when the ruling party is advancing its tariff policy against China. On Monday, the President of the United States threatened Mexico with tariffs if it does not comply with the commitments of the Water Treaty that governs this aspect of the bilateral relationship. In a message on the social network Truth Social, Trump echoed the complaints of Texas farmers and ranchers who demand that Mexico comply with its debt of more than 986 million cubic meters of water that it should have covered in the five-year period that ended at the end of October. "The US needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water (246 million cubic meters) before December 31, and the rest must be delivered shortly after," the president said. "So far, Mexico has not responded, which is very unfair to our US farmers, who urgently need this water. The White House's demand installs in the cabinet the thesis that for Trump nothing is ever enough. A sensitive scenario in the face of the renegotiation of USMCA, the same agreement that Trump threatened to let expire last week. In the diplomatic sphere, the theory prevails that, from Trump's perspective, outside of security, Mexico is slow to comply with various demands: the Vulcan Materials case, the concentration in the Telecom sector, business complaints towards the SAT, or the fact that tariffs on China are seen more as a revenue issue than a regional security strategy. To this is added another more subtle detail: US security agencies did not like the departure of Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, which is why it was necessary for Omar García Harfuch to quickly appoint most of the team that will accompany Ernestina Godoy. Meanwhile, in the Foreign Ministry, they indicate that Trump is pressuring Mexico because his government lacks political results and the economy would not be functioning as planned. The photograph from last Friday in Washington, of Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump smiling and attending the draw for the next World Cup, quickly eroded.
