Mexico negotiating with its northern states to send more water to US, Sheinbaum says

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's federal government is negotiating with its northern states to send more water to the United States, the country's president said on Tuesday, after its historic shortfall led President Donald Trump to threaten tariffs and sanctions.

Mexico is scrambling for solutions after falling critically behind on its obligatory deliveries to the U.S. under an 81-year-old water-sharing treaty.

"Talks are under way with the governors of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Chihuahua to reach a joint agreement to determine how much water can be delivered ... without affecting Mexican producers, while also complying with the 1944 treaty," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in her daily press conference.

Reuters reported last week that Mexico will likely enforce an amendment inserted into the treaty last year that empowers Mexican federal officials to take extra water from its states to comply with obligations, though it is likely to face resistance from state governments.

Under the 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-size 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.

Mexican officials have said pervasive drought conditions have made it impossible for them to keep up with deliveries.

But U.S. officials accuse Mexico of flagrantly ignoring the treaty and prioritizing its own agricultural industry at the expense of Texas farmers.

Agriculture-producing northern states, already struggling with drought, closely guard their water supplies. Officials from Chihuahua and Tamaulipas previously told Reuters their states cannot spare any extra water and questioned the legality of the treaty amendment that gives the federal government greater authority to take water from them.

The executive director of Chihuahua's water council, Mario Mata, has said the state is considering legal action against the amendment, raising the prospect of standoffs.

In 2020, Mexico's National Guard clashed with farmers at the Boquilla dam in Chihuahua over water deliveries to Texas, killing one protestor.

Sheinbaum said last week that Mexico would send an immediate water delivery to Texas farmers, but did not specify the quantity. Mexico had sent U.S. officials a proposal to address the lagging deliveries, she said.

A Mexican official told Reuters last week that Mexico has agreed to send 122,000 acre-feet of water to the U.S. and is working on an option to deliver another 81,000 acre-feet. But that additional water would still mean Mexico had sent less than 40% of the water it owes under the treaty.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison, Sarah Kinosian and Raul Cortes;Editing by Rod Nickel)