The Trump administration and Mexican officials have signed a contract to ensure Texas farmers get much needed water from Rio Grande after President Donald Trump denounced his southern neighbors for stealing water that had been promised under a treaty decades ago.
US Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins announced Monday that a contract has 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 has pledged to send water from the international reservoirs and increase US flows from Mexico's six Rio Grande tributaries until the end of the current five-year hydrological cycle, ending in October.
“Mexico finally meets the water needs of Texas farmers and ranchers, and the 1944 Water Treaty is a huge victory for American agriculture,” Rollins said. “After weeks of negotiations with Mexican Cabinet officials along with Deputy Chief Christopher Landau, we have secured an agreement to provide Texas producers with the water they need to thrive.”
The Texas Agricultural Crisis is on the verge of the US and Mexico's long-standing water treaty
President Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico, and officials like Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum are currently working with the United States to take on the cartel and fentanyl. (Reuters)
Rollins called the measure an important step forward, noting that the Trump administration welcomes Mexico's ongoing operations to support American agriculture.
Under the 1944 Water Treaty, Mexico agreed to deliver 1.75 million acre feet from the Rio Grande to the United States over five years. In exchange, the US has agreed to deliver 1.5 million acre feet of water from the Colorado River to Mexico.
However, sometimes Mexico was shortfalls as it gave birth to the US, causing 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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View of Rio Grande (Reuters/Veronica G. Cardenas)
The agreement would be if Trump continued to steal South Texas farmers in Rio Grande, as promised under the treaty, weeks after Trump threatened to impose tariffs and perhaps even sanctions on Mexico.
“This is very unfair and hurts the farmers of South Texas very badly,” the president wrote in a post on April 10th about Truth Social. “Last year, Texas' only sugar mill was stealing water from Texas farmers.
Texas town declares a “water emergency” and tells residents that there may be a shortage of water
Donald Trump (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Trump went on to say that Mexico would not violate treaties with the United States and harm Texas farmers.
“Last month, I stopped water cargo to Tijuana until Mexico complied with the 1944 water treaty,” he wrote. “My agricultural secretary, Brooke Rollins, is standing up for Texas farmers. We will continue to escalate the outcomes, including tariffs and possibly sanctions, until Mexico respects the treaty and gives Texas the water they owe!”
A Texas farm group warned last year for disastrous seasons for citrus and sugar as Mexican and US officials tried to resolve a dispute over the 1944 treaty supplying serious irrigation to American farmers.
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The two countries had previously fought for the treaty, but drought-driven water shortages were the most severe in nearly 30 years.
