Today, we are going to explain the conflict between the U.S. and Mexico involving water. The U.S. President, Donald Trump, threatened to place a 5% tariff on Mexico if the country does not deliver a certain amount of water that he says the Latin American nation owes under a long-standing treaty. So, in case you don’t know what’s going on between these two countries, we are here to explain the situation. So, let’s get started.
Water between both countries
President Donald Trump said he wants Mexico to provide more water to the U.S. because, according to him, Mexico has not sent all the water it was supposed to send under an old treaty. This treaty says that the country must send a specific amount of water from the Rio Grande every 5 years. The water moves through a system of dams and reservoirs shared by both countries.
Trump stated that the southern neighbor must send the U.S. 1.75 million acre-feet of water every 5 years, as the treaty says. However, he assures that the country hadn’t done that in the last years and, for that reason, the country supposedly owes 800,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S.
Trump explained this lack of water is affecting farmers and ranchers in Texas. According to him, crops and livestock are suffering because there is not enough water to support them. Because of this, he publicly demanded that Mexico deliver 200,000 acre-feet of water before December 31, and more water after that.
Mexico and response to the issue
Mexico hasn’t responded yet to the 5% tariffs threat Trump says he wants to apply if the water is not immediately sent.
Also, in April, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that Mexico had agreed to increase its water shipments. This would help make up for the shortfall under the 1944 treaty. However, Mexico has previously said that the country is facing drought conditions, which have strained the country’s own water resources. This means the Latin American nation has less water available, making it more difficult to send water to the United States.
For Mexico, dealing with drought reduces the amount of water it can afford to share. Even though the treaty requires this country to deliver water every five years, drought makes this requirement much harder to meet.
What’s Trump exactly asking for?
Trump said that since Mexico is not responding and he considers this ‘’very unfair’’ for American farmers, he decided to authorize the documents needed to impose a 5% tariff on the Latin American nation. He said the tariff will be applied if Mexico does not release the water “immediately.” For him, this economic measure would be a way to pressure Mexico and make the country meet with what he says the country owes them, according to the treaty.
To sum up
In the end, this situation shows how something as basic as water can create real tension between two neighboring countries. Trump insists the southern neighbor hasn’t delivered what the treaty requires, and he’s using the threat of a 5% tariff to push for immediate action. Mexico, on the other hand, has pointed to drought and limited water resources. With no official response from yet, the pressure continues to rise.
What happens next will decide whether both countries find a way to cooperate—or move into an even more heated dispute over a resource that everyone depends on.