karthikpandian19 wrote:Economist: It is generally true, at least in this part of the world, that countries that impose tariffs on imported goods have more successful industrial sectors than those that do not. It is also true that each time a country has imposed a new tariff on imported goods, both the number of jobs and the total profit generated by that country's industrial sector have increased as a consequence. However, in the case of Country X, which, unlike its neighbors, possesses very little in the way of raw materials necessary for industrial production, imposing tariffs on imported goods would almost certainly harm, rather than help, its industrial sector. Manufacturers in Country X would no longer have access to the cheap raw materials that made their previous success possible, and prices of their finished products would rise to the point that the manufacturers would no longer be able to compete with foreign imports, regardless of the high tariffs placed on those imports.

In the economist's argument, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?


(A) The first is a generalization that the economist accepts as true; the second is presented as a consequence that follows from the truth of that generalization.

(B) The first acknowledges a consideration that argues against the primary position that the economist defends; the second is that position.

(C) The first is a pattern of cause and effect that the economist argues will be repeated in the particular case examined in the argument; the second acknowledges a situation in which that pattern would not hold true.

(D) The first states a causal relationship that has been observed in the past; the second presents a hypothetical example that casts doubt on the truth of that statement.

(E) The first is a pattern of cause and effect that the economist predicts will not hold in the particular case examined in the argument; the second offers support for that prediction.