Mexico's Sheinbaum hits back at Trump's latest threat in water dispute

Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday she was confident of reaching an agreement with US President Donald Trump in a water-sharing dispute, after he threatened new sanctions.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (r.) brushed off threats from her US counterpart Donald Trump as tensions flared over a water-sharing dispute.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (r.) brushed off threats from her US counterpart Donald Trump as tensions flared over a water-sharing dispute.  © Collage: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP & ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP

"I am convinced that, as has happened other times, we are going to reach an agreement that benefits the United States and Mexico," Sheinbaum told a news conference a day after Trump's threat.

Trump on Monday accused Mexico of violating a 1944 treaty under which the US shares water from the Colorado River in exchange for flows from the Rio Grande, which forms part of the border between the two countries.

Mexico's Sheinbaum set to hold trade talks with Trump at FIFA World Cup Draw
Mexico Mexico's Sheinbaum set to hold trade talks with Trump at FIFA World Cup Draw

Trump said Mexico owed 800,000 acre-feet of water to the US and demanded it release a quarter of this amount by December 31 or be hit with a new 5% tariff.

Sheinbaum said Mexican officials would meet Tuesday with US counterparts to discuss the dispute.

Mexico has acknowledged it is behind in its water deliveries to the US over the past five years, citing drought conditions in 2022 and 2023.

Sheinbaum said it would be physically impossible to deliver the amount of water Trump wants so quickly because the pumping equipment could not handle it.

"We have the best will to deliver the amount of water that is owed from previous years," she said Tuesday.

Trump threatens Mexico over water-sharing row

The move to boost water supplies for Texas farmers came as the 79-year-old president announced a $12 billion aid package for the US agriculture industry, rocked by fallout from his trade and tariff policies.

In April, Trump had previously threatened Mexico with economic repercussions over the water dispute, prompting Mexico at the time to immediately send water.

Mexican goods currently face a 25% tariff unless they fall under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a free trade deal struck during Trump's first term and which Washington is aiming to renegotiate in 2026.

Cover photo: Collage: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP & ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP

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