https://nypost.com/2021/12/03/biden-officials-lobbied-congress-to-water-down-anti-china-bill-report/

A top State Department official urged a key senator earlier this year to tamp down the language in a bill meant to prevent the importation of goods from China that are made using Uyghur forced labor, according to a new report.

The Washington Post, citing Biden administration officials, reported Thursday that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) — a co-sponsor of the bill — in October that the White House wanted lawmakers to take “a more targeted and deliberative approach” to determining which items would be barred from the US.

Versions of the bill, known as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, passed the House of Representatives in September 2020 and the Senate by a unanimous vote in July this year. The House is expected to vote on its version of the bill again sometime next week.

The measure includes a provision requiring importers to prove that goods originating in the Chinese province of Xinjiang were not manufactured using forced labor. The Washington Post reported that Sherman objected to that provision, which has also been criticized by major corporations.