Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 5% tariff on Mexico if it does not immediately provide additional water to help US farmers, accusing the country of violating a treaty that outlines water-sharing between the neighbors.
Under the treaty, which dates back to 1944, Mexico must send 1.75m acre-feet of water to the US from the Rio Grande through a network of interconnected dams and reservoirs every five years. The agreement also stipulates that the United States must annually allocate 1.5m acre-feet of water from the Colorado River to Mexico.
The water from the Rio Grande is used to support agriculture in Texas and other US border states.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, the president said that Mexico “owes” the US 800,000 acre-feet of water due to violations of the treaty over the past five years.
He demanded Mexico release 200,000 acre-feet of water before 31 December, and more “soon after”.
The lack of water was hurting crops and livestock in Texas, Trump said.
“As of now, Mexico is not responding, and it is very unfair to our U.S. Farmers who deserve this much needed water,” Trump added. “That is why I have authorized documentation to impose a 5% Tariff on Mexico if this water isn’t released, IMMEDIATELY.”
A spokesperson for Mexico’s economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April, the US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said that Mexico had agreed to increase its water shipments to Texas to help make up a shortfall under the 1944 treaty.
Mexico has argued that it is under drought conditions that have strained the country’s water resources. While climate crisis-induced drought plays a large role in the Rio Grande’s depletion, overconsumption and mismanagement have also contributed to its current state. A recent World Wildlife Study found that 52% of the water consumed from the Rio Grande is unsustainable, meaning that it is contributing to overall depletion of reservoirs, aquifers and the river itself.
The study also found that water shortages have led to the loss of 18% of farmland in the river’s headwaters in Colorado, 36% along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, and 49% in the Pecos River tributary in New Mexico and Texas.
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This is not the first time the delay of water from Mexico has caused political tensions. In May 2024, 10 US lawmakers from bipartisan congressional districts urged Congress to withhold money from Mexico until it delivered the water. The group wrote that in addition to jeopardising crops, “the lack of reliable water delivery affects municipalities and threatens the quality of life for many American citizens living along our border”.
Texas’s agricultural industry has seen significant consequences from lack of water, including the closure of the state’s last sugar processing mill.
Trump’s threat to Mexico follows the unveiling of a $12bn economic assistance package on Monday for farmers negatively affected by the tariff-induced trade wars.
“This relief will provide much-needed certainty to farmers as they get this year’s harvest to market and look ahead to next year’s crops, and it’ll help them continue their efforts to lower food prices for American families,” Trump said during a roundtable discussion of American agriculture.
About $11bn of the $12bn relief package will come from the agriculture department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. The money will go to producers of corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, rice, wheat and other row crops, according to the USDA’s announcement, and is expected to be released in February 2026. The remaining $1bn will be reserved for producers not covered by the FBA program, including specialty crops and sugar, but the USDA said that the timeline for those payments was still under development.
