President Donald Trump said Monday he will impose an additional 5% tariff on Mexican goods unless the country delivers at least 200,000 acre-feet of water to Texas by Dec. 31, as required under the 1944 Water Treaty.
In a social media post, Trump said Mexico owes the U.S. 800,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers, and that crops and livestock in Texas are being harmed by Mexico withholding water.
“Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation is seriously harming our BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND LIVESTOCK,” Trump wrote. “The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our Farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW.”
Mexico is America’s largest trading partner, and an additional 5% tariff would raise duties on Mexican goods not covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to 30%.
Mexican imports already face additional tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum that Trump imposed on national security grounds.
Trump previously threatened tariffs and sanctions in April over Mexico’s treaty obligations, arguing the Mexican government had delivered less than 30% of its required water over a five-year cycle ending in October.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in April that her government had proposed a plan to the U.S. to address the water-sharing obligations.
“There have been three years of drought, and Mexico has been complying to the extent that water has been available,” Sheinbaum said. “I am confident that, as with other issues, an agreement will be reached.”
Sheinbaum has not responded to Trump’s latest ultimatum.
Related: Mexico may face more Trump tariffs over Texas water dispute
The 1944 Water Treaty obligates both countries to share water from the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers. Mexico is required to transfer an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the U.S., measured over a five-year cycle.
The disputed water is stored in the Amistad and Falcon reservoirs, international reservoirs along the U.S.–Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley that are jointly managed by both countries.
Farmers in South Texas have seen steep declines in irrigation water, an ongoing problem worsened by drought in both Texas and Mexico, leading to disputes over whether Mexico is meeting its treaty commitments, Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association, told FreightWaves.
Galeazzi said the shortages are so severe they are reshaping cropping decisions in the Rio Grande Valley.
“Growers in the Valley, they’re not able to plant what they want to, and they’re not able to plant when they want to,” Galeazzi told FreightWaves in an April interview. “They’ve got to change their crop mix, because you think about valuable commodities like celery, which requires five to six waterings on a very specific schedule. If you don’t have the water, you can’t plant celery. That’s the same issue across a lot of different commodities — broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts — your high-dollar fruits and vegetables require consistent water.”
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