Trump threatens 5% Mexico tariff over water treaty violations
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President Donald Trump warned Monday that Mexico’s failure to deliver water owed under a decades-old agreement is hurting Texas farmers and could trigger a new tariff if the country doesn’t immediately release a critical portion of the needed supply.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Mexico must release 200,000 acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty before December 31 or face a 5% tariff.
“Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Agreement, and this violation is seriously harming OUR BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND ANIMALS,” the president wrote. “Mexico still owes the United States 800,000 acre-feet of water for not complying with our agreement for the last five years.”
“U.S.A. [sic] Mexico needs to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, with the rest coming soon after,” Trump continued. “Mexico is not responding as of now, and it is very unfair to our US Farmers who deserve this much needed water. Therefore, I have the authority to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico if this water is not released IMMEDIATELY.”
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President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico if it does not provide water to Texas farmers as agreed in the 1944 Water Treaty. (Reuters)
“The longer it takes for Mexico to release water, the more our Farmers will suffer. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW,” he added.
Agricultural groups in Texas last year warned of a disastrous season for citrus and sugar as Mexican and U.S. officials try to resolve a dispute over a 1944 treaty that provided critical irrigation to U.S. farmers. The two countries have clashed over the agreement before, but the drought-induced famines were the most serious in nearly 30 years.
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Fishermen Martin Delgado, 57, and Jesus Yanez, 57, sail a boat at the drought-affected Luis L. Leon “El Granero” dam in the municipality of Aldama in the Mexican state of Chihuahua on August 3, 2022. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo/Reuters)
In April, the Trump administration and Mexican officials reached a deal to ensure Texas farmers got much-needed water from the Rio Grande, less than a month after Trump accused Mexico of not delivering water it had promised under the agreement.
Under that agreement, Mexico committed to sending water from international reservoirs and increasing U.S. flows through Mexico’s six Rio Grande tributaries by the end of the current five-year water cycle.
US, Mexico reach deal to ensure Texas farmers get much-needed water
Community resident and farmer Byer Junfin, 37, surveys land and water flow near a Flowmeter Station on February 22, 2023 in Quemado, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the measure an important step forward and said the Trump administration welcomes Mexico’s continued cooperation to support American agriculture.
Under the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico agreed to supply 1.75 million acre-feet of water from the Rio Grande over five years.
In return, the United States agreed to surrender 1.5 million acres of land from the Colorado River to Mexico.
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However, Mexico experiences water shortages from time to time, leading to severe water shortages for farmers and ranchers in the Rio Grande Valley. These shortages killed crops and jobs and threatened the region’s economy.
