PARTNER Act
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Would authorize the President to extend diplomatic privileges and immunities — such as immunity from certain lawsuits and exemption from property taxes — to four additional international and regional organizations: ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum, CARICOM, and CERN.
It would also extend to the African Union's permanent observer mission to the United Nations the same privileges and immunities that full UN member-state missions enjoy, signaling a formal upgrade in how the United States treats that body.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the International Organizations Immunities Act to authorize the President, on whatever terms and conditions the President determines, to extend the privileges and immunities provided by that act to four organizations not currently covered: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Those privileges typically include immunity from certain civil lawsuits, exemptions from property taxes, and related protections. The bill would also amend a separate existing provision of the same act to extend to the permanent observer mission of the African Union to the United Nations — and its members — the full privileges and immunities that permanent missions of UN member states receive.
The bill would not automatically grant these immunities; it would grant presidential authority to extend them, leaving the actual scope and conditions to executive discretion. The organizations covered are ones in which the United States is not a full member.
Key provisions
- 1Would authorize the President to extend International Organizations Immunities Act privileges and immunities to ASEAN on terms the President determines.
- 2Would authorize the President to extend the same privileges and immunities to CERN, the international particle-physics research organization.
- 3Would authorize the President to extend the same privileges and immunities to the Pacific Islands Forum.
- 4Would authorize the President to extend the same privileges and immunities to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
- 5Would extend to the African Union's permanent observer mission to the United Nations the privileges and immunities enjoyed by full UN member-state missions.
Who would be affected
The four international and regional organizations named in the bill — ASEAN, CERN, the Pacific Islands Forum, and CARICOM — and the African Union's permanent observer mission to the United Nations, along with their staff and members present in the United States. Courts and private litigants who might otherwise have claims against those organizations or their personnel would also be affected by any immunity extension the President chooses to make.
Why it matters
If the President exercises the new authority, the named organizations would gain legal protections — lawsuit immunity, property tax exemptions, and related benefits — that currently apply to organizations in which the United States formally participates. This could ease the establishment or expansion of those organizations' presences in the United States and strengthen diplomatic relationships with member states across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Africa.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et seq.) (Sec. 2–5)
Adds four new sections authorizing presidential extension of act privileges to ASEAN, CERN, Pacific Islands Forum, and CARICOM.
Amends International Organizations Immunities Act, Section 12(b) (22 U.S.C. 288f-2(b)) (Sec. 6)
Adds the African Union's permanent UN observer mission as a second category eligible for full UN member-state mission privileges and immunities.
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates the PARTNER Act would increase the federal deficit by $6 million over the 2025–2035 period, entirely due to reduced tax revenues from extending tax and customs exemptions to five international organizations.
H.R. 4490 would extend privileges and immunities — including exemption from most federal taxes and customs duties — to five international organizations: the African Union, ASEAN, the Caribbean Community, CERN, and the Pacific Islands Forum. CBO estimates that forgone customs duties would be less than $500,000 per year, while the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the loss of tax revenue would total $2 million over 2025–2030 and $6 million over 2025–2035. There is no effect on direct spending (mandatory outlays), and the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
The bill is largely permissive rather than self-executing: each extension of immunity would require an affirmative presidential action, presumably implemented through executive order or designation, under terms the President determines. No rulemaking or agency grant cycle is specified. The African Union provision amends an existing section of the act directly, adding the observer mission as a second category alongside the existing African Union Mission to the United States. No reporting requirements or phase-in timelines are established.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Official CRS summary
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This bill authorizes the President to extend diplomatic immunities and privileges provided by the International Organizations Immunities Act, including immunity from certain lawsuits and exemption from property taxes, to specified international regional and research organizations.
Specifically, the bill authorizes the President to extend these immunities and privileges to
- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization with 10 members including Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam;
- the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional organization with 18 members including Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea;
- the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a regional organization with 15 members and 6 associate members including Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia; and
- the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), an international research organization focused on particle physics.
The bill also authorizes the President to extend to the permanent observer mission of the African Union to the United Nations the privileges and immunities provided to permanent missions to the United Nations of member states.
Legislative subjects
ASEAN countries; Africa; Caribbean area; Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad; Government liability; International Affairs; International law and treaties; International organizations and cooperation