Trump threatens 5% Mexico tariff over water treaty violations

President Donald Trump warned Monday that Mexico’s failure to deliver water owed under a decades-old treaty is harming Texas farmers and could trigger new tariffs if the country does not immediately release a critical share of its required supply.

In an article on Truth Social, Trump said Mexico must release 200,000 acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty by Dec. 31 or face a 5 percent tariff.

“Mexico continues to violate our Comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation seriously harms our MAGNIFICENT HARVEST AND LIVESTOCK TEXAS,” the president wrote. “Mexico still owes the United States more than 800,000 acre-feet of water for failing to comply with our treaty over the past five years.”

“The United States [sic] “Mexico needs to release 200,000 acre-feet of water by December 31, and the rest must arrive shortly thereafter,” Trump continued. “At this time, Mexico is not responding, and that is very unfair to our American farmers who deserve this much-needed water. That is why I have authorized documentation 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 to in the 1944 Water Treaty. (Reuters)

“The longer Mexico takes to release water, the more our farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW,” he added.

Texas farm groups warned of a disastrous season for citrus and sugar last year as Mexican and U.S. officials worked to resolve a dispute over the 1944 treaty that provides U.S. farmers with a critical irrigation system. The two countries have clashed over the treaty before, but drought shortages have been the most severe 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, Chihuahua state, Mexico August 3, 2022. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/File photo/Reuters)

In April, the Trump administration and Mexican officials reached a deal to guarantee Texas farmers much-needed water from the Rio Grande, less than a month after Trump accused Mexico of withholding water promised under the treaty.

Under the agreement, Mexico committed to sending water from international reservoirs and increasing U.S. flows from six of the Rio Grande’s Mexican tributaries until the end of the current five-year water cycle.

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Community resident and farmer Byer Junfin, 37, studies land and water flow near a flow meter station February 22, 2023, in Quemado, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the move a significant step forward and said the Trump administration welcomes Mexico’s continued cooperation to support U.S. agriculture.

Under the Water Treaty of 1944, Mexico agreed to provide 1.75 million acre-feet of water over five years from the Rio Grande.

In exchange, the United States agreed to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet from the Colorado River to Mexico.

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But Mexico has failed at times, leading to severe water shortages in the Rio Grande Valley for farmers and ranchers. These shortages have destroyed crops and jobs and threatened the region’s economy.