President Donald Trump is warning Mexico he may impose sanctions and more tariffs on the country if it doesn’t give Texas the water he believes it owes.
Trump said Mexico owes Texas 1.3 million “acre-feet” of water under the 1944 water treaty, and he said he halted water shipments to Tijuana, a city bordering California, until the agreement is met.
“Last year, the only Sugar Mill in Texas CLOSED, because Mexico has been stealing the water from Texas Farmers,” Trump said in a social media post, praising Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for “leading the fight to get South Texas the water it is owed” and blaming former President Joe Biden for not working to help American farmers.
“THAT ENDS NOW! I will make sure Mexico doesn’t violate our Treaties, and doesn’t hurt our Texas Farmers,” he added.
Both Texas and Mexico are suffering from drought conditions. Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, responded to Trump saying she’s directed her administration to contact officials from the U.S. Agriculture and State departments. She added that Mexico has been supplying water as it has been available.
“I am confident that, as on other issues, an agreement will be reached,” she concluded.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) thanked Trump for his pledge.
“Thank you @POTUS for holding the Mexican government accountable for the water they owe South Texans,” De La Cruz said in a social media post. “As one of the largest agricultural producing states, any impact on Texas ag will impact our entire country. I will always fight for South Texas farmers and producers to secure the critical water resources we are owed.”
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Mexico is unlikely to want to provoke Trump to levy more tariffs, given they’re already under a 25% tariff on certain goods.
Sheinbaum recently said they avoided new tariffs due to the “good relationship” between the two countries.
