Overview of best prospect sectors, major infrastructure projects, significant government procurements and business opportunities.
Last Published: 11/12/2019

Market Opportunities

Portuguese tend to perceive American products as being of high quality, but not price competitive.  U.S. firms should stress price/quality competitive advantages when trying to enter the Portuguese market.
The Portuguese market is larger than it may initially appear. While there are only 10.3 million people in Portugal, there are well over 250 million people who speak Portuguese worldwide. Former Portuguese colonies, including Macau, Mozambique, Angola and Brazil, have close business ties with Portugal. U.S. companies can often find avenues to these other markets through Portugal and, indeed, the Portuguese Business Promotion Agency (AICEP) actively markets the country as a “gateway” economy into third markets, particularly in Lusophone Africa.
Portugal is an excellent entry point or test market for U.S. firms looking to establish access into the EU. The country is politically stable; the crime rate is relatively low; the bilateral relationship is strong; English is widely spoken; and the population is very friendly toward Americans.  Both physical and IT Infrastructure are well developed, and the cost of doing business in Portugal is significantly lower as compared to other countries in Western Europe.  Companies that have already penetrated one EU country will have met the requirements for Portugal as well.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


More Information

Portugal Trade Development and Promotion