U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose additional 5% tariffs on Mexican products if the neighboring country does not supply water in accordance with a bilateral treaty signed in 1944. According to reports, Trump stated in a social media post that Mexico's continuous violation of the 1944 Water Treaty is seriously harming crops and livestock in Texas. The U.S. needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet (246.6 million cubic meters) of water before December 31, and the rest must be delivered shortly thereafter, Trump said. Trump noted that he has "authorized the documentation to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico if this water is not released immediately." As detailed by the Xinhua agency, the U.S. is required to send 1.5 million acre-feet of water (1.85 billion cubic meters) to Mexico annually from the Colorado River, while Mexico is obligated to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet (2.2 billion cubic meters) to the U.S. from the Rio Grande in five-year cycles, under the 1944 Water Treaty, also known as the Treaty on the Utilization of the Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and the Rio Grande. Mexico still owes the U.S. more than 800,000 acre-feet (986.4 million cubic meters) of water for violating our Treaty over the past five years.
