US and Mexico Strike Deal to Deliver Vital Rio Grande Water to Texas Farmers

Texas farmers can finally breathe a little easier after a breakthrough deal between U.S. and Mexican officials secured desperately needed water from the Rio Grande. The agreement arrives on the heels of heated accusations from former President Donald Trump, who recently blasted Mexico for not holding up its side of a decades-old water treaty—claiming Texas farmers were getting the short end of the stick.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the deal, confirming that Mexico will meet its water delivery obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty. This means Mexico is set to boost water flow from six tributaries of the Rio Grande through the end of the current five-year water cycle, which wraps up in October.

Rollins described the agreement as a "major win for American agriculture," emphasizing that after weeks of tough negotiations with Mexican officials (and some diplomatic muscle courtesy of Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau), Texas farmers will now get the water they need to keep their crops alive and businesses running.

The 1944 Water Treaty spells out that Mexico delivers 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. every five years from the Rio Grande, while the U.S. sends 1.5 million acre-feet to Mexico from the Colorado River. Historically, though, Mexico has sometimes fallen short, leaving South Texas farmers—and their fields—high and dry. That's not just a minor inconvenience; it’s led to wilting crops, lost jobs, and a local economy gasping for relief.

Trump recently threatened tariffs and even sanctions if Mexico didn’t play by the rules. He fired off a post calling the situation "very unfair," blaming Mexico for the closure of Texas’s only sugar mill and accusing the Biden administration of standing by. Trump promised to keep the pressure on until the water (and, by extension, the sweet life) returned to Texas fields.

With farm groups warning last year of a looming disaster for citrus and sugar due to the deadlock, it’s no exaggeration to say this deal arrived just in the nick of time. The region hasn’t seen a drought-driven water shortage this bad in nearly 30 years, so let’s hope this agreement actually sticks. After all, nothing brings neighbors together like the threat of crispy crops and empty wallets.