BIS terminates sec. 232 investigation of Mobile Crane imports

On December 18, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. 201214-0339] announcing that on November 23, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce terminated an investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, which was initiated on May 19, 2020, to determine whether imports of mobile cranes threatened to impair the national security. Notice of the investigation and a request for public comments was published in the Federal Register on May 26, 2020. The investigation was originally requested in an application submitted by the Manitowoc Company, Inc. (“Manitowoc”) on December 19, 2019.

On September 8, 2020, the BIS received a formal request from Manitowoc to withdraw its application and terminate the investigation. Manitowoc stated that the current economic environment is very different from when Manitowoc submitted the application in December 2019, given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary of Commerce has evaluated the request to withdraw and has determined that it is appropriate to terminate the investigation.

See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-18/pdf/2020-27863.pdf