By Jasper Ward and Brendan O’Boyle
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Mexico has agreed to deliver at least 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the United States, the U.S. secretaries of state and agriculture said in a joint statement on Tuesday, after U.S. and Mexican officials met recently to negotiate deliveries under a water treaty.
“The agreement reached makes it possible to strengthen the orderly management of water resources in the Rio Grande basin and to move toward planning with greater predictability and shared responsibility in the face of the effects of drought,” the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement.
As a result of negotiations, Mexico has also committed to a detailed plan to fully repay all outstanding water debt accrued during the previous cycle, according to the U.S.
Mexico and the U.S. will hold monthly meetings to ensure timely, consistent deliveries and prevent future deficits.
Mexico said it agreed to guarantee delivery of a minimum annual volume of water, noting that deliveries will depend on hydrological conditions and that human consumption and agriculture would be prioritized.
“The Department of State, Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission have worked to secure Mexico’s commitment to meet its obligations under the 1944 Water Treaty, while also providing a plan to eliminate the deficit from the prior cycle, strengthening water security for Texas communities and U.S. agriculture,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
In December, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of violating the 1944 agreement governing water sharing through a network of dams and reservoirs. The treaty requires Mexico to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of Rio Grande water to the United States every five years.
The Latin American country, the largest trading partner of the U.S. in 2024, has at times struggled to make its deliveries, citing drought conditions fueled by climate change and local demand.
U.S. officials said Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum discussed the treaty when they spoke last week and reaffirmed their commitment to resolving longstanding water management challenges and supporting communities and producers on both sides of the border, according to the joint statement.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Brendan O’Boyle, Writing by Christian Martinez, editing by Susan Heavey, Rod Nickel)
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