Facing mounting pressure from U.S. officials and a threat of new tariffs from President Donald Trump, Mexico has committed to a prompt water delivery to Texas in an effort to meet its obligations under an 81-year-old water-sharing treaty between the two countries.
On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country would make “an immediate water delivery“ to Texas farmers, although she did not specify how much water would be sent. This came just one day after Trump threatened to implement retaliatory tariffs and sanctions against Mexico due to the country’s ongoing failure to deliver water to the U.S.
“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,” Trump wrote on social media. “THAT ENDS NOW! I will make sure Mexico doesn’t violate our Treaties, and doesn’t hurt our Texas Farmers.”
At the middle of the growing water dispute are South Texas farmers, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, who continue to struggle through one of the worst irrigation shortages in recent memory. The lack of water led to an economic loss of nearly $1 billion in 2023 alone.
The ongoing water crisis led to the launch of a $280 million grant program to help struggling farmers in South Texas. The program, which will be overseen by the Texas Department of Agriculture, will send direct payments to farmers in eligible counties who experienced water delivery losses in 2023 and 2024. The program is accepting applications through May 22.
Mexico has repeatedly failed to hold up its end of the 1944 Water Treaty, which requires the U.S. and Mexico to share water. Under the agreement, Mexico delivers the U.S. water from the Rio Grande, while the U.S. gives water to Mexico from the Colorado River.
Mexico is required to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet (AF) of water over a five-year cycle; the current cycle is set to end later this year. However, by the end of 2024, Mexico had delivered less than 30% of the required water since Oct. 2020, according to data from the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.
Courtesy of National Centers of Environmental Information
Mexican officials say they’re unable to deliver because — similar to South Texas — the region has been suffering from an ongoing drought. According to data from the North American Drought Monitor, a majority of the Rio Grande and Bravo River Basin was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions by the end of last year.
“We have experienced more than four years of drought, so there is less water,” Sheinbaum said on Friday.
In November, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to amend the water treaty, giving Mexico more options to meet its water deliveries. But the dispute has escalated after Trump took office earlier this year; he denied a special request from Mexico for water last month, citing Mexico’s ongoing failure to meet its obligations. This marked the first time the U.S. has formally refused a non-treaty water request from Mexico.
On Friday, Sheinbaum said she expected to reach an agreement between the two countries in the coming days “that will allow the treaty to be fulfilled.”
“I don’t think it will be a source of conflict,” she added.
