S. 1579, Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations with ASEAN, CERN, and PIF Act

S. 1579 would extend certain privileges and immunities provided to other international organizations to the following organizations:

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
• The European Organization for Nuclear Research, and
• The Pacific Islands Forum.

Those privileges include exemption from most federal taxes and customs duties. Such organizations also have immunity from lawsuits and other judicial proceedings that is extended to foreign governments, and their representatives and employees are exempt from certain laws regulating entry into and departure from the United States.

CBO estimates that a small number of people would benefit under the bill and that the forgone customs duties would amount to less than $500,000 in each year and over the 2026- 2036 period. The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the loss of tax revenue would be insignificant in each year and would total $2 million over the 2026‑2031 period and $4 million over the 2026-2036 period. (The Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended, stipulates that revenue estimates provided by the Joint Committee on Taxation are the official estimates for all tax legislation considered by the Congress. CBO therefore incorporates such estimates into its cost estimates of the effects of legislation.)

On August 28, 2025, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.4490, Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment to Enhance Relations Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 22, 2025. H.R 4490 is similar to S. 1579: Both bills would extend privileges and immunities to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and the Pacific Islands Forum. The estimated reduction in revenue for H.R. 4490 exceeds the amount estimated for S. 1579 because H.R. 4490 also would extend benefits to the African Union and the Caribbean Community.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emma Uebelhor. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.