President Obama in Oregon to Promote Trade

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — President Barack Obama's two-day trip to Oregon will highlight trade.

The president arrives Thursday afternoon at Portland International Airport and is scheduled to hold a fundraiser in Portland for the Democratic National Committee. The next day, he'll promote free trade at Nike headquarters outside Beaverton.

Obama wants Congress to approve so-called "fast track" trade authority, giving him leeway to negotiate a trade deal with Asian countries that would be subject only to an up-or-down vote, without amendments.

Many labor unions and other liberal groups have come out forcefully against fast-track authority, and critics are planning to protest outside Obama's events on Thursday and Friday.

Obama was last in Oregon on July 25, 2012, when he held a private fundraiser at the Oregon Convention Center.