Irked by the slow drip of diplomacy, President Donald Trump is warning Mexico to open the tap to give water to Texas farmers or pay a price.
The United States and Mexico have been mired in a dispute over Mexico’s failure to live to its part of a 1944 water treaty under which Mexico sends Texas water from the Rio Grande while the U.S. sends Mexico water from the Colorado River.
This spring, after Mexico continued to fall short on its promises, the State Department denied a request for water for Tijuana, marking the first U.S. denial in the treaty’s history, according to The Hill. The current deal calls for about 490 billion gallons from the U.S. to flow to Mexico each year, while 570 billion gallons from Mexico head north, according to CNN.
Although earlier this year the dispute seemed to be moving toward a solution, Trump took to Truth Social to say that Mexico keeps leaving America high and dry.
🚨JUST POSTED🚨
President Donald Trump says he’s going to impose a 5% tariff on Mexico if they do not release water for Texas farmers. pic.twitter.com/6smH1OnB8w
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) December 8, 2025
“Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation is seriously hurting our BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND LIVESTOCK,” Trump wrote.
“Mexico still owes the U.S over 800,000 acre-feet of water for failing to comply with our Treaty over the past five years. The U.S needs Mexico to release 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31st, and the rest must come soon after,” Trump continued. An acre-foot of water is approximately 326,000 gallons.
“As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water,” he wrote.
Although Mexico had promised to send water to Texas farmers by October, it did not deliver, as noted by Politico.
“That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY. The longer Mexico takes to release the water, the more our Farmers are hurt. Mexico has an obligation to FIX THIS NOW. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said.
Trump’s post came as the United States remains in the middle of contentious discussions over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that regulates trade among the nations. Trump is also pressuring Mexico to change its position and allow U.S. troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels, according to Newsweek.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said Mexico is complying “to the extent water is available,” citing a drought, according to Reuters.
“I am sure, as on other issues, an agreement will be reached,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexico’s failure to deliver water to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty has already led to the closure of the last sugar mill in Texas, but our sugarcane growers are trying to hold on to their family farms by growing other crops. Their future depends on the irrigation water Mexico… pic.twitter.com/KBVrqYlnnE
— American Sugar Alliance (@SugarAlliance) April 3, 2025
Meanwhile, Texas farmers are suffering, Brian Jones, a farmer in Hidalgo County, Texas, and a Texas Farm Bureau board member, said according to CNN.
“Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas are either out of water or running out of water quickly,” he said.
“The sugar industry is lost to Texas and will never return,” he added.
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