Trump threatens Mexico with sanctions, tariffs over water-sharing treaty – National
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with sanctions and tariffs over the 1944 water-sharing treaty, which governs water allocation from the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers.
Under the treaty, Mexico is required to transfer water to the United States every five years from the two dams the countries share on the Texas border, but Trump is now claiming that the country is “stealing water from Texas farmers.”
“Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation,” Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social. “This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly.
“Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers. Ted Cruz has been leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed, but Sleepy Joe refused to lift a finger to help the Farmers.
“THAT ENDS NOW! I will make sure Mexico doesn’t violate our Treaties, and doesn’t hurt our Texas Farmers.
“Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty. My Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas Farmers, and we will keep escalating consequences, including TARIFFS and, maybe even SANCTIONS, until Mexico honors the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s post and acknowledged that her country had not fulfilled its treaty commitments.
“Yesterday, a comprehensive proposal was sent to the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of State to address the water supply to Texas under the 1944 treaty, which includes very short-term actions,” Sheinbaum wrote in a statement on X.
“This has been a three-year drought, and to the extent water is available, Mexico has been complying. The International Boundary and Water Commission has continued its work to identify mutually beneficial solutions.”
Sheinbaum said she instructed the secretaries of agriculture and rural development and foreign affairs, as well as the secretary of environment and natural resources “to immediately contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of State.”
“I am confident that, as on other issues, an agreement will be reached,” she added.
In March, the U.S. Department of State said the United States had denied a non-treaty request by Mexico for a special delivery channel for Colorado River water to be delivered to Tijuana.
“Mexico’s continued shortfalls in its water deliveries under the 1944 water-sharing treaty are decimating American agriculture — particularly farmers in the Rio Grande valley,” the department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in a post on X on March 20.
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“As a result, today for the first time, the U.S. will deny Mexico’s non-treaty request for a special delivery channel for Colorado River water to be delivered to Tijuana,” the department added.
The 1944 treaty sets five-year cycles for these water deliveries, with the latest scheduled to end in October, but Mexico has fallen behind due to drought conditions.
“There’s been less water. That’s part of the problem,” Sheinbaum told reporters on March 20 when she was asked about the issue.
On March 20, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he had hosted farmers and ranchers from across the Rio Grand Valley and that their “situation is dire.”
“Mexico is refusing to comply with its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty to provide water from the Rio Grande to the US, even while we go above and beyond our own obligations to give Mexico water. The effects on Texas have been catastrophic,” Cruz wrote on X.
“Last Congress, I introduced and advanced the first-ever legislation to impose sanctions on Mexico and withhold aid over noncompliance. I will soon do so again this Congress, but I am also working with the Trump administration to impose consequences on Mexico right now.
“Every option is on the table, not just withholding aid but also water we have been giving Mexico, which can be done without breaching our own obligations under the treaty.”
He also shared the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ post denying the request from Mexico to deliver water to Tijuana, calling the move “excellent.”
“As I said yesterday, this option is absolutely what the Trump administration needs to pressure Mexico to fulfill its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty,” Cruz wrote. “Texas farmers are in crisis because of Mexico’s noncompliance. I will work with the Trump administration to pressure Mexico into complying and to get water to Texas farmers.”
The Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee voted in favour of the U.S. State Department ensuring Mexico meets its obligations to deliver the water to the U.S. on March 19.
The committee heard testimony from Rio Grande Valley officials on how Mexico’s failure to deliver water has impacted local farmers and stalled growth.
“It’s really causing a lot of severe issues not only for the valley but along the river from El Paso down to Brownsville,” Texas Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa said at the hearing.
“The reality is that even commercially, the growth of the valley is being stunned [sic] because we cannot issue any more builder’s permits because there’s no water,” Hinojosa said. “Hopefully, the present Trump administration will be a lot more aggressive in trying to address the issue.”
State Sen. Charles Perry had previously said he would like the Trump administration to include the water treaty in its tariff negotiations.
“It would be nice to include water release under the 1944 treaty in those tariff negotiations so that we could get some relief in the valley,” Perry said.
— With files from Reuters
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