A technique is provided for improving the output drive capacity of output drivers on an integrated circuit that is configured to support I/O standards having operating voltages greater than the intrinsic core supply voltage. When MOS field-effect transistors are used in the I/O circuitry of such integrated circuits, the gate oxide layers of the transistors in the interface circuitry may need to be thicker than those comprising the core circuitry in order to tolerate I/O voltages that exceed the core supply voltage. In counteracting the degradation in output drive that may result from thickening the gate oxide layer, the pull-down signal applied to the gate of the pull-down transistor is preferably level-shifted from the core supply voltage to the higher external operating voltage associated with the I/O standard being supported. This external voltage is made available to the level-shifting circuit preferably through a spare pin or a gated I/O pin.