In less than a month, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is scheduled to issue its findings regarding Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel for nearly $15 billion.

CFIUS’s job is to help the U.S. president determine whether a proposed foreign investment in the United States could harm national security and, if so, what changes to the deal might be necessary or if it should be blocked entirely. While U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to keep U.S. Steel “domestically owned and operated,” there are multiple ways this promise could be kept. There is also a possibility that incoming President-elect Donald Trump in January will try to revisit Biden’s decision.

Regardless, the endgame for Nippon Steel’s bid appears near and the results could have a significant positive or negative impact on U.S.-Japan relations, depending on the outcome. The next key step belongs to CFIUS in late December.