MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s government is negotiating an agreement with states in the north of the country to determine how much water they can send to the United States to help make up its shortfall under a treaty that has strained U.S. relations, President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a morning press conference Tuesday.
The 81-year-old water-sharing treaty with the U.S. has prompted tariff threats by President Donald Trump.
Under the 1944 treaty that outlines water-sharing between the two countries through a network of interconnected dams and reservoirs, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from the Rio Grande every five years. An acre-foot of water is enough to fill about half an Olympic swimming pool.
The treaty’s current five-year cycle is up in October, but Mexico has sent less than 30% of the required water, according to data from the International Boundary and Water Commission.
(Reporting by Sarah Kinosian)
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