| Summary: | The middle decades of the 20th century constituted a radical change in the global hegemony of the cork business, with the end of the Spanish leadership and the beginning of a period of Portuguese hegemony, which remains today. The article analyses the customs policies followed by both Iberian dictatorships and evaluates their effects on the alteration of the productive and commercial specialization of Spain and Portugal in the cork sector. It concludes that the different nature of those policies, along with the relevance of the cork business in Portugal and, consequently, the more considerable attention it received from the Estado Novo, contributed all together to the success of the Portuguese customs policy and consolidated Portugal’s leadership in the cork manufacturing business.
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