Major Bilateral River Treaty Update on Water Storage and Hydropower Put on Pause
President Trump’s trade war with Canada has now reached the headwaters of the Columbia River. At stake is an amended version of the 61-year-old bilateral Columbia River Treaty governing flood control, water supply, hydropower and native American fishing rights.
The treaty expired last year. An agreement in principle was negotiated with Canada but wasn’t sent to the Senate for ratification before President Biden’s term ended. The Trump administration has paused the tentative agreement, stoking another contentious issue between the two long-time, continent-sharing allies.
Biden and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the tentative agreement last summer, which took six years to negotiate. Supporters hailed it as an improvement from the original treaty that focused on flood risk management and hydropower generation. Proposed new elements recognize ecological, social, cultural and economic considerations in the Columbia River Basin, as well as climate change impacts.
Those positive changes may doom the treaty amendments in the eyes of the Trump administration. The saving grace for the changes is the need for more relatively inexpensive hydropower in the region to supply existing and proposed energy-intensive data centers in the Pacific Northwest.
Trump delayed his initially proposed tariffs on Canada until April 2. Trump administration officials told a Canadian delegation last week there won’t be a further delay on 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and other exports to the United States. Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs.
Trump’s trade war with Canada has continued to metastasize as he continues to advance trade policy centered on tariffs and insist America’s northern neighbor and longtime ally join the United States as its 51st state.
Moving forward with treaty modifications may be stuck in the thicket of Trump’s effort to retaliate against what he views as unfair trade practices, including by Canada, despite his agreement during his first term to a rewrite of the free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Key Columbia River Treaty Changes
The treaty agreement negotiated by the Biden administration would reduce the amount of Columbia River hydropower shared with Canada but give Canada more flexibility on water storage. Canada would receive $37 million in direct payments from the U.S. government.
The agreement also would enhance the role of tribal governments and increase investment in fishery habitat and recovery efforts.
There could be a legal challenge if the Trump administration decides to walk away from the tentative treaty agreement, John Wagner, an environmental policy professor at the University of British Columbia and a Columbia River Treaty expert, told The Oregonian.
“Trump cannot just pause these because they were approved by an exchange of notes between Canada and the U.S. governments before Trump took office,” Wagner said. But he also warns if the Trump administration declines to continue talks, the deal “will be dead in the water.”
The stakes are significant for both nations. The treaty gives Canada control over the flow of water down the Columbia River, which is used to generate hydropower. Columbia River dams provide 40 percent of all U.S. hydropower production. River water supports $8 billion in annual agricultural production and enables water transport of 42 million tons of cargo.
Collaboration between Canada and the United States is important to maximize hydropower output. As many as 11 hydroelectric dams lack water storage and are run-of-the-river electricity generators. Upriver water storage can serve as large, natural batteries.
The agreement tracked the success of Libby Dam in Montana in maintaining “environmental water flows” to benefit downstream environments. River flows also have economic and cultural significance, including restoration of natural salmon runs, for indigenous people in Canada and native Americans.
“The Agreement in Principle provides a promising framework and work is still ongoing to modernize the Columbia River Treaty,” says Stewart Rood, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at the University of Lethbridge. “This will allow for innovative water management with the hope of reasserting the ecological, socio-economic and Indigenous cultural values that were neglected with the original Treaty. We have a second chance.”
Trump Trade Policy
The New York Times reported that Trump has directed his advisers to come up with new tariff levels that take into account trade barriers as well as subsidies to domestic industries, exchange rates and other measures Trump deems unfair.
“Mr. Trump has said he needed to take action to even out America’s ‘unfair’ relationships and stop other countries from taking advantage of the United States on trade. But he has made clear that his ultimate goal was to force companies to bring their manufacturing back to the United States,” according to The Times report.
U.S. stock and financial markets have responded negatively to Trump’s on-and-off tariffs and expressed concern his economic policies could push the United States toward a recession. Trump has admitted there may be short-term impacts but claims the changes he’s making will benefit the country in the long run. Canadian economists warn tariffs could plunge Canada into recession by later this year.
Some of the policies Trump officials have identified are a 3 percent tax on online and social media companies and quotas and surcharges on dairy products.
Interesting Columbia River Facts
The Columbia River and its tributaries, including the Snake River, course through four mountain ranges and start as far east as Yellowstone National Park.
The 1,270-mile-long Columbia River delivers more water into the Pacific Ocean than any other river in North or South America. The drainage basin includes 258,000 square miles, stretching from British Columbia to Oregon.
Explorers Lewis and Clark traversed the Columbia River as far west as what is now Astoria. In their day, there were 12,935 miles of navigable, “pristine” rivers from the inland to the ocean. Clark noted in 1805 an “inconceivable” number of salmon.
Salmon runs declined after dams were built for irrigation, flood control and hydropower.
