Overview
- Trump demanded Mexico release 200,000 acre-feet of Rio Grande water by December 31, saying more than 800,000 acre-feet remain owed from the last five-year cycle.
- The 1944 treaty requires 1.75 million acre-feet every five years, and IBWC accounting shows shortfalls, with some reports citing deliveries under roughly 30% in the latest cycle.
- Mexico says it has met obligations to the extent water is available during three years of drought and says President Claudia Sheinbaum submitted a short‑term proposal to U.S. officials.
- Texas farm groups report more than $1 billion in crop and livestock losses and low reservoirs such as Falcon Dam, increasing political pressure for relief.
- The tariff threat echoes an April warning and arrives as a pending Supreme Court ruling could limit a president’s ability to impose tariffs without Congress.