The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has cleared ChemChina’s proposed takeover of Swiss seeds giant Syngenta. Although hailed as a major step forward, the proposed deal still faces potential problems from European regulators as they scrutinize its impact on the region’s crop protection market, particularly given ChemChina’s ownership of Adama Agricultural Solutions.

In July, the Chinese group gained full control of Adama, the world’s largest producer of generic crop protection products, from Israel’s Discount Investment. ChemChina and Syngenta both expect to close the transaction by the end of this year, although some observers believe this timing could be optimistic. This week, ChemChina is reported to be planning to sign a syndicated loan agreement with more than 10 banks for $12.7 billion to help finance the deal.