Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and human rights advocates expressed alarm on Friday over a report that the State Department might declare that Malaysia’s record on human trafficking had improved since last year, even though, they say, the record has not.

The possible upgrade of Malaysia’s trafficking designation, which was reported this week by Reuters, comes after Congress approved legislation last month that included a veiled criticism of Malaysia’s human-trafficking record. That language was inserted by Mr. Menendez into the law, which gives the president expanded trade negotiating powers but prevents the United States from striking trade deals with countries, namely Malaysia, that have the worst human-trafficking records.

“They appear to be giving Malaysia a sweetheart deal,” Mr. Menendez, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a call with reporters...

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