for about 10 percent and raw materials (mostly petroleum) for about 15 percent. In 1998 Portugal exported goods and services in the value of $34.9 billion. Manufactured goods accounted for 80 percent of the merchandise exported in 1998. The type of goods that Portugal exported were clothing, footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork, paper products, and hides. Portugal’s major trade partners were basically EU nations. These EU nations bought 82 percent of Portugal's total exports in 1998, and supplied 77 percent of Portugal’s imports. Germany and Spain are Portugal’s most important trading partners within the EU. Only 5 percent of Portugal's imports in 1998 came from the United States. And the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) accounted for less than 7 percent. The Balance of Payments is slightly positive despite negative trade balances. That’s because of large earnings from tourism and remittances from Portuguese living abroad. In addition to direct foreign investment and EU transfers. That’s why the results were generally favorable in the balances of payments (US$4.6 billion in 1998, US$3.5 billion in 1999). The exchange rate in January 1999, was172.78 escudos per US$1. But now Portugal is going to have it’s local currency replaced with the EU’s common currency. That’s the Euro, and in January of 2000 the Euros’s exchange rate was 0.9867 Euros per US$1. But the Euro will not take over in Portugal until January of 2002. National Security in Portugal is not a major issue since Portugal doesn’t have many enemies. The Portuguese military is made up of three different branches, they are the Army, Navy (includes Marines), and the Air Force. The Armed Forces total personnel on active duty in 1992 was of 58,000, of which 33,000 were conscripts. The army personnel was of 32,700 (24,800 conscripts). In the navy it was 15,300 (5,000 conscripts). In the air forc...
