A bill to ensure the reliable delivery of water to the United States under the 1944 Water Treaty, to provide a mechanism to compensate United States agricultural producers for economic losses resulting from delivery shortfalls, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · May 14, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
The WATER for Farmers Act addresses water delivery disputes between the United States and Mexico under a 1944 international treaty. Mexico is obligated to deliver at least 350,000 acre-feet of water annually to the United States from the Rio Grande basin, measured in five-year cycles, but the bill finds that unpredictable deliveries have caused severe economic harm to farmers and communities in South Texas. The legislation establishes a process where the Secretary of State determines if Mexico has met its annual obligations, and if shortfalls occur, the U.S. Trade Representative can impose tariffs on Mexican imports beginning 90 days after a shortfall is confirmed, with increased tariffs for multiple consecutive years of shortfalls. The bill creates a South Texas Agricultural Compensation Trust Fund financed by tariff revenues collected from Mexico, which the Secretary of Agriculture will use to compensate affected farmers based on a formula that accounts for the water shortfall volume, economic value per acre-foot, and broader economic impacts on agriculture and related industries. The International Boundary and Water Commission must publicly report monthly on water deliveries, shortfalls, and compensation payments made under the program.
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