The Trump administration and Mexican officials reached a deal to ensure Texas farmers get much-needed water from the Rio Grande, less than a month after President Donald Trump accused the neighbor to the south of robbing the farmers of water promised under a decades-old treaty.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced on Monday that the deal had been reached with Mexico to meet the current water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers as agreed under the 1944 Water Treaty.
Under the latest agreement, Mexico committed to send water from international reservoirs and increase the U.S. flow from six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle, which ends in October.
“Mexico finally meeting the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers under the 1944 Water Treaty is a major win for American agriculture,” Rollins said. “After weeks of negotiations with Mexican cabinet officials alongside the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, we secured an agreement to give Texas producers the water they need to thrive.”
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Rollins called the measure a significant step forward, noting that the Trump administration welcomes Mexico’s continued operation in support of American agriculture.
Under the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico agreed to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet over five years to the U.S. from the Rio Grande. In exchange, the U.S. agreed to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water to Mexico from the Colorado River.
But at times, Mexico falls short with its delivery to the U.S., and it has led to severe water shortages in the Rio Grande Valley for farmers and ranchers, killing crops and jobs while threatening the local economy.
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A view of the Rio Grande (REUTERS/Veronica G. Cardenas)
The agreement comes weeks after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico, possibly even sanctions, if it continued to rob South Texas farmers of Rio Grande water as promised under the treaty.
“This is very unfair, and it is hurting South Texas Farmers very badly,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social on April 10. “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!”
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Donald Trump (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump continued, saying he will make sure Mexico does not violate treaties with the U.S. and hurt farmers in Texas.
“Just last month, I halted water shipments to Tijuana until Mexico complies with the 1944 Water Treaty,” he wrote. “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!”
Texas farm groups warned of a disastrous season ahead of them for citrus and sugar last year as Mexican and U.S. officials tried to resolve a dispute over the 1944 treaty that supplies U.S. farmers with critical irrigation.
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The two countries have tussled over the treaty before, but the drought-driven water shortages were the most severe in nearly 30 years.