USTR has issued a Classification Guidance (Guidance) that provides comprehensive and authoritative guidance and establishes policies and procedures for classifying, downgrading, and declassifying national security information. The Guidance provides for the protection of USTR information and its availability to authorized users and requires all employees to ensure the information USTR works with every day is properly classified, marked, and safeguarded.
USTR annually reports to the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), which evaluates the effectiveness of the Government’s security classification programs, about all material classified by USTR. As part of the report process, USTR reviews all classified material for possible declassification. The purpose of the USTR declassification program is to:
- Review all historically valuable classified information, including foreign government information.
- Assess what needs to remain classified and what can be released to the public while protecting diplomatic relations between the United States and a foreign government.
- Enhance public access to information about USTR’s programs
- Provide a mechanism for public input on the types of information USTR should prioritize for declassification.
Direct questions about the USTR declassification program to Victor Aqueche, the Director of USTR’s Office of Security, Victor.A.Aqueche@ustr.eop.gov.
