(a) Foreign government information classified by a foreign government or international organization of governments shall retain its original classification designation or be assigned a United States classification designation that will ensure a degree of protection equivalent to that required by the government or organization that furnished the information. Original classification authority is not required for this purpose.

(b) Foreign government information that was not classified by a foreign entity but was provided with the expectation, expressed or implied, that it be held in confidence must be classified because Executive Order 12356 states a presumption of damage to the national security in the event of unauthorized disclosure of such information.

Foreign government information shall not be assigned a date or event for automatic declassification unless specified or agreed to by the foreign entity.

Officials shall respect the intent of this Regulation to protect foreign government information and confidential foreign sources.

Except as provided in this paragraph, OSTP shall process mandatory review requests for classified records containing foreign government information in accordance with § 2400.21. The agency that initially received or classified the foreign government information shall be responsible for making a declassification determination after consultation with concerned agencies. If OSTP receives a request for mandatory review and is not the agency that received or classified the foreign government information, it shall refer the request to the appropriate agency for action. Consultation with the foreign originator through appropriate channels may be necessary prior to final action on the request.

Classified foreign government information shall be protected as is prescribed by this regulation for United States classified information of a comparable level.