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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday her country intends to send more water to the United States but not immediately despite threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to raise tariffs by 5% on Mexican imports if more water is not delivered as part of a water-sharing agreement.
Sheinbaum said Mexico is proposing a water delivery this month and another one in the coming years. The proposal will be discussed in a virtual meeting with U.S. officials Tuesday, she said.
Mexico is behind water deliveries to the United States from the Rio Grande River because of drought and pipeline limitations, Sheinbaum said.
Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico must deliver 1.7 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from six tributaries every five years, or an average of 350,000 acre-feet every year. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre of land to a depth of 1 foot.
Trump posted on social media Monday that Mexico has a water debt that has accumulated over five years and that is affecting farmers in Texas. He said that he has authorized a 5% increase on tariffs on Mexico if the water is not immediately released.
“The U.S needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, and the rest must come soon after,” Trump wrote. “As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water.”
Trump first threatened tariffs over the water issue in April when he also threatened to impose 5% tariffs on Mexican imports and accused the country of continuing to violate the agreement.
The two countries have reached agreements on the issue in the past and the Mexican president said she hoped they would again find an understanding.
“We have the best intention to deliver the amount of water that is owed from previous years,” Sheinbaum said.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
