1 week Ago By Ismail Shakil and Cassandra Garrison
US President Donald Trump has threatened Mexico with sanctions and tariffs in a dispute over water sharing between the two countries, accusing Mexico of breaking an 81-year-old treaty and "stealing the water from Texas Farmers". Login or signup to continue reading Under the 1944 treaty, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the US from the Rio Grande through a network of interconnected dams and reservoirs every five years.
An acre-foot of water is enough to fill about half an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The current five-year cycle is up in October, but Mexico has sent less than 30 per cent of the required water, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission. "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 on Truth Social. "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 honours the Treaty, and GIVES TEXAS THE WATER THEY ARE OWED!" Trump said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in response, said on X that Mexico has been complying with the treaty "to the extent water is available" amid three years of drought.
Mexico sent a proposal to US officials on Wednesday, Sheinbaum said, to address the water supply to Texas, which includes short-term actions. Sheinbaum said she instructed her environment, agriculture and foreign ministers to immediately contact US officials. "I am sure, as on other issues, an agreement will be reached," Sheinbaum said.
Mexican officials have routinely pointed to a historic drought fuelled by climate change as a barrier to fulfilling water commitments, a scenario for which the treaty offers leniency, allowing the water debt to be rolled over to the next five-year cycle. Politicians in the US maintain that Mexico's growing cattle and pecan industries along the border have used up precious water, and they say Mexico's failure to deliver its water quota devastates Texan farmers who need it for their crops. Reuters, citing sources, reported on Wednesday that Mexican officials were scrambling to come up with a plan to increase the amount of water sent to the United States because of growing concern that Trump could drag the dispute into trade negotiations.
As Mexico's federal government looks to send more water to the US, it looks set to clash with northern Mexican states that closely guard their water supply. In 2020, Mexico's National Guard clashed with farmers at the Boquilla dam in Chihuahua state over water deliveries to Texas, killing one protester. Australian Associated Press Daily Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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