Why are records still required for foreign government information (FGI)?
The Presidential Executive Order 12958 of April 17, 1995 (which has replaced Executive Order 12356 dated April 2, 1982) and NATO policy and international agreements provide the basis for protecting foreign government information. The order specifies that: (1) foreign government information shall retain its original classification marking or shall be assigned a U.S. classification that provides a degree of protection at least equivalent to that required by the entity that furnished the information and (2) an agency shall safeguard foreign government information under standards that provide a degree of protection at least equivalent to that required by the government or international organization of governments that furnished the information. Additionally, the United States has over 50 General Security Agreements with other governments that obligate each signatory to provide substantially the same degree of protection to each other’s information. The NATO Security Agreement contains simi
