Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
Texas Border Business
MISSION, Texas — Standing before Rio Grande Valley growers, community leaders, and reporters at the Texas International Produce Association’s (TIPA) headquarters in Mission, Dante Galeazzi, President and CEO of TIPA, delivered a clear and urgent message: the Rio Grande’s dwindling flow is threatening the very foundation of life in the Rio Grande Valley.
“More than 90 percent of our freshwater comes from the Rio Grande,” Galeazzi said. “If there’s no water in that river, where are we going to get it? How are our communities going to move forward?”
Galeazzi described how water shortages have forced many South Texas farmers to make heartbreaking choices. “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,” he said. “It’s the third year in a row they’ve had to tell customers, ‘I’m sorry, I have nothing for you.’ It’s the third year they’ve had to tell their banks they’ll be short on payments.”
He said that many producers are facing the painful question of whether they can afford to keep farming at all. “Do I stop farming? Do I stop what generations before me began?” Galeazzi asked. “That’s not right. That’s not how it should be.”
The longtime produce leader joined fellow speakers in calling for the 1944 Water Treaty between the United States and Mexico to be tied to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), giving the treaty the enforceability it currently lacks. “We’ve been having this same conversation for decades,” Galeazzi said. “We have to tie the USMCA and the 1944 treaty together to make a difference. Otherwise, there is no forward—only backward.”
Texas Citrus Mutual President Dale Murden reinforced Galeazzi’s point, calling the Rio Grande “our lifeline” and urging a unified voice from the Valley. “Protecting the river’s flow is protecting the Valley’s health, welfare, and future,” Murden said. “No water, no growth, no life.”
Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz echoed their call for accountability. “We need to put teeth on the 1944 Water Treaty,” she said. “By integrating it into the USMCA, we create consequences—real, enforceable measures if Mexico fails to comply.”
All three leaders urged residents to take immediate action by submitting comments to the U.S. Trade Representative before November 3, 2025, in support of including the 1944 Water Treaty within the USMCA framework.
At the close of the press conference, Galeazzi encouraged attendees to use the QR code provided by the Texas International Produce Association, which takes users directly to the USTR’s comment portal at comments.ustr.gov.
“It takes five minutes,” Galeazzi said. “If every citizen of the Rio Grande Valley took those five minutes, it would send a message that cannot be ignored. If the river stops flowing, so do we.”
Residents across the Rio Grande Valley can take immediate action by submitting comments to the U.S. Trade Representative before November 3, 2025, through https://comments.ustr.gov/s/submit-new-comment?docketNumber=USTR-2025-0004 or by scanning the QR code belowi
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