Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Friday that the country would immediately provide water to farmers in Texas, United States, to compensate for Mexico’s failure to fulfill the water quantity specified in the U.S.-Mexico water resource treaty.
According to the 1944 treaty, the two countries share water resources through interconnected dams and reservoir networks. Mexico is obligated to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water every five years from the Rio Grande to the United States. One acre-foot of water is roughly equivalent to half the capacity of an Olympic-size swimming pool.
The current five-year cycle of the treaty is set to end in October as per the International Boundary and Water Commission, but Mexico has only delivered less than 30% of the required water volume.
During a press conference on Friday, Sheinbaum mentioned that Mexico is exploring alternative solutions to comply with the 81-year-old water resource sharing treaty signed with the United States. She stated that proposals have already been sent to U.S. officials.
Texas Republicans have publicly criticized Mexico for ignoring the treaty, which has harmed the interests of Texas farmers who rely on this water source.
Sheinbaum stated, “For the farmers in Texas who need water, we will immediately provide millions of cubic meters of water based on the flow of the Rio Grande (known as Rio Bravo in Mexico).”
She also emphasized that Mexico is enforcing the treaty based on the available water resources and highlighted that drought conditions have impacted Mexico’s water supply.
However, Sheinbaum expressed confidence on Friday that an agreement would be reached with the United States in the coming days to avoid further conflicts on this issue.
She explained that the Mexico-U.S. water resource treaty stipulates that the United States supplies water to Mexico through the Colorado River, while Mexico supplies water to the United States through the Rio Grande; it is a fair treaty. In fact, the U.S. provides more water than Mexico, which is based on the available water resources of each location. These are technical provisions.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Mexican officials are racing against time to increase the water flow to the United States due to growing concerns that the dispute may be dragged into trade negotiations under the Trump administration.
If the Mexican federal government seeks to implement a controversial amendment to the treaty that was included last year, authorizing federal officials to take additional water to fulfill obligations, it may lead to conflicts with northern Mexican states that fiercely protect their water supply.
Mexico’s failure to supply water as agreed has sparked a diplomatic dispute with its largest trading partner. President Trump stated on his social platform Truth Social on Thursday, “Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water but has not provided as agreed. We will increase pressure, including imposing tariffs and even possible sanctions, until Mexico complies with the treaty and returns the water to Texas!”
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted on social media platform X on Friday, stating that she had a productive call with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landaum and Mexico’s Agriculture Minister to discuss how to address the emergency crisis caused by Mexico’s failure to supply water to U.S. farmers as per the treaty obligations.