WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting with corporate advisers and pushing for a simpler tax code for businesses and expanded trade. And those two policy proposals are certain to put him at odds with some fellow Democrats as he enters the last two years of his presidency.

Obama also was planning Thursday to announce a competition for two manufacturing hubs — centers designed to promote innovation and production by connecting federal agencies with academic institutions.

With Republicans set to control both houses of Congress next year, Obama has highlighted trade and a tax overhaul as two possible areas of common ground with the GOP. Democrats have resisted such efforts in the past.