In theory, the idea of a professional certification (like the AMA or ABA) isn't that outlandish; the practice of engineering touches several areas where a bad decision can be catastrophic (bridges and buildings, yes, but also operation of chemical plants, utilities, power distribution networks, cybersecurity).
In practice, though, professional certification of engineering raises many issues. Like, for example, whether and how often is recertification required? AFAIK most of these organizations aren't that keen on alienating dues-paying members by making them face up to the fact that their knowledge is obsolete (what little they didn't forget, that is).
Or, how are the certification requirements set? This is a problem because once there's some power, even limited power, in a given organization, the type of person who's attracted and who succeeds in those organizations tends to be more interested in politicking than in engineering. (I could go on for a while...)
(I'm not a fan of any organization that operates by force or deception, and guilds and state-enforced licensing requirements tend to mix both. Of course, an employer may require this certification or that license, but that's a voluntary transaction.)
As far as I know there was never a case like the OP in Portugal, but one of the things that the "order of engineers" said I couldn't do was to call myself "an engineer." Seriously, the letter said that I had to call myself a "graduate from [my school's] engineering program." So, Oregon isn't alone.