President Barack Obama is apparently not just coming to the Portland area to raise money next week.

The White House is laying plans for the president to attend a pro-trade event on Friday morning, May 8, possibly at Nike, according to several sources. Obama is already scheduled to attend a $500-a-ticket-and-up fundraiser the night before at a downtown hotel in Portland.

The president is in the middle of a pitched congressional battle over legislation crucial to the fate of a massive trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership involving the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations.

Nike, along with a number of multinational companies, has been a staunch supporter of free-trade pacts that it says strengthens its global sales.

Generally, the White House has focused its trade push on smaller companies known for their exports -- not a corporate giant like Nike that imports its products from overseas manufacturers.

Nike, however, has established a working relationship with the administration by helping First Lady Michelle Obama on her efforts to improve physical fitness.

The first lady and Nike President Mark Parker appeared together in Chicago in 2013 to announce that company would spend $50 million over the next five years to increase physical activity in schools around the country.

Nike officials did not respond to requests for comment. The White House also did not comment on the president's travel plans.

Congress is considering a "fast track bill" -- formally known as Trade Promotion Authority -- that would require an up-or-down vote with no amendments on future trade pacts, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership that is in final negotiations.

Organized labor and a number of other left-of-center groups have parted ways with Obama on this issue and are working hard to drum up congressional opposition to the deal.

Oregon is one state with significant Democratic support for the trade deal because of the state's strong export economy.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., negotiated the terms of a fast track bill with Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

Wyden says the agreement they reached will produce a better trade agreement than ones in the past that critics say mostly benefited corporate interests at the expense of workers. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., also has backed the measure negotiated by Wyden.

--Jeff Mapes

503-221-8209

@Jeffmapes