The Texas produce industry and its colleagues are asking for support from the industry and the public in tying the 1944 Water Treaty to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the latter of which will undergo review starting July 2026.
This follows frustrations amongst Rio Grande Valley residents over water delivery shortfalls to the U.S. The 1944 treaty outlined the sharing of water from the two major rivers running through both the U.S. and Mexico, namely the Rio Grande and Colorado. However in more recent years, drought in both countries has challenged the treaty and the U.S. is seeing a sizable shortfall in its deliveries from Mexico.
"Water availability affects this region in every way, whether it's regional growth, the economy, the environment, agriculture sustainability or our community's health–we have far too long traded with a partner in good faith that simply does not return that courtesy," said Dale Murden, president of Texas Citrus Mutual which represents some 400 citrus growers in the state, at a press conference on Friday.
With the review of USMCA coming up in 2026, Murden and other advocates in Texas are hoping to link the enforcement of the 1944 Water Treaty to the USMCA. "Repeated shortfalls by Mexico leave the Valley scrambling for emergency measures during droughts," said Murden. "By including the water treaty in the USMCA, the U.S. gains enforceable tools to protect the people and the environment through trade accountability."
© Texas International Produce Association
L-R: Dale Murden, president, Texas Citrus Mutual; U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz; Dante Galeazzi, president & CEO, Texas International Produce Association; Daniel Rivera, executive director, Elsa Economic Development Corporation
Public call for support
Also at the press conference, U.S. Representative Monica De La Cruz urged the residents of the Rio Grande Valley to help put "teeth" into the treaty. "We need the public to step in and make comments on the U.S. trade representatives' website to urge them to put the 1944 Water treaty into the USMCA agreement before November 3," she said.
Dante Galeazzi, president & CEO of the Texas International Produce Association painted a bleak picture for Texas agriculture growers as a result of drought and the delivery shortfalls. "This last year our farmers put 30 percent less fruits and vegetables into the ground. Not because they wanted to but because they were forced to," said Galeazzi. "That's the third year in a row for most of them and some of them it's the fourth year. It's the third year in a row they look out onto their fields and think: do I plant and hope that Mexico delivers water? Or do I stop this way of life?"
He echoed the congresswoman's call for public support ahead of the USMCA negotiations. "We need the citizens of the Rio Grande Valley to step up and go online and post these comments. We are done with this cycle that for 80 years has not worked," Galeazzi said. "We have given tens of millions of dollars to Mexico to build waterways. Yet decades later, here we are having the same conversation over and over again. We have to tie the USMCA and the 1944 water treaty together to make a difference."
For more information:
Dante Galeazzi
Texas International Produce Association
www.texipa.org
Dale Murden
Texas Citrus Mutual
https://texascitrusindustry.com/
