Former state-controlled companies now account for the bulk of the market capitalization of the Lisbon stock exchange and several of them have taken steps to expand their investments overseas. Following the removal of capital controls in 1992, lower interest rates abroad led to a shift towards a greater reliance on the use of foreign public debt, which rose to 15.0 percent of GDP by 1998. That debt, however, has yielded benefits in the form of longer debt maturities and lower costs for domestic debt. As a result, interest expenditure on public debt fell from 6.2 percent of GDP in 1994 to an estimated 2.8 percent of GDP in 1999. The EU Customs Code was fully adopted in Portugal as of January 1, 1993.
Special tariffs exist for tobacco, alcoholic beverages, petroleum and automotive vehicles.
Portugal is a member of the World Trade Organization. Because Portugal is a member of the EU, the majority of imported products enjoy liberal import procedures. Imported products must be marked according to EU directives and Portuguese labels and instructions must be used for products sold to the public. Portugal welcomes foreign investment and foreign investors need only to register their investments, post facto, with the Foreign Trade, Tourism, and Investment Promotion Agency. However, Portugal limits the percentage of non-EU ownership in civil aviation, television operations, and telecommunications.