La Jornada: US conditions T-MEC on Mexico’s cooperation on water and border issues

The head of the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Jamieson Greer, warned yesterday that President Donald Trump will find it difficult to accept a renewal or even a review of the USMCA if Mexico does not collaborate in all areas of the bilateral relationship, including border security and compliance with the 1944 Water Treaty.

The statement was made during an appearance before the United States Senate Finance Committee, after which he indicated that he would travel to Mexico to meet today with President Claudia Sheinbaum, within the framework of the third round of bilateral negotiations on the joint review of the T-MEC.

Earlier, the president reported that she will receive the US official this morning at the National Palace, although she did not specify the time of the meeting.

Greer’s statements come in the context of the third round of bilateral negotiations of the T-MEC, which began on Tuesday and conclude today in Mexico City, with the technical teams of both countries meeting in the offices of the Ministry of Economy.

The agenda of this round includes trade in steel, aluminum and its derivatives, the automotive industry, economic security, labor conditions, agriculture and electronic payment services.

Rules of origin, one of the most important pending issues

Questioning about the water issue came from Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who asked whether Mexico’s delay in deliveries of water from the Rio Grande, in accordance with the 1944 Treaty, could be addressed within the current review of the trade agreement. Greer responded that the matter falls largely within the jurisdiction of the State Department, although he stressed that it conditions Trump’s disposition towards the rest of the negotiation.

“From President Trump’s perspective, it is clear that if we want to have a beneficial trade relationship with Mexico and some type of agreement, they must also collaborate on this issue. Obviously, also on border security issues and other issues that are outside my jurisdiction,” the official noted.

Greer also referred to the rules of origin as one of the most important pending points in the review, with the stated objective of preventing third countries from indirectly benefiting from the treaty. “We want to make sure that any trade between our countries benefits our countries and not a third country like Vietnam or China,” he said.

The official said he hopes that before the end of the year there will at least be options on the table for Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico to consider interim arrangements, while more complex issues, such as rules of origin and labor and environmental compliance, continue to be discussed next year.

“While the USMCA represented a significant improvement over NAFTA, there is no doubt that problems remain in our trade relationship with Mexico and Canada. From 2020, when the agreement came into force, until 2024, our trade deficit with Mexico increased from $110 billion to $168 billion, and our deficit with Canada from $13 billion to $61 billion. In addition, there are a number of well-known non-tariff problems, ranging from from expropriation to the lax application of labor legislation and barriers to agricultural trade,” he noted.

When asked whether the United States will maintain access for agricultural producers to the markets of Canada and Mexico, Greer responded that this access is fully preserved. He also referred to the investigation opened by the Mexican government into the US pork industry arising from a trade disagreement over tomato exports, and claimed to have raised the issue at the highest level with his Mexican counterpart, whom he described as aware of his country’s dependence on the US market.