Critical Reasoning

Every one,

I get stuck at this question.

Three large companies and seven small companies currently manufacture a product with potential military applications. If the government regulates the industry, it will institute a single set of manufacturing specifications to which all ten companies will have to adhere. In this case, therefore, since none of the seven small companies can afford to convert their production lines to a new set of manufacturing specifications, only the three large companies will be able to remain in business.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the author's argument relies?

A. None of the three large companies will go out of business if the government does not regulate the manufacture of the product.
B. It would cost more to convert the production lines of the small companies to a new set of manufacturing specifications than it would to convert the production lines of the large companies.
C. Industry lobbyists will be unable to dissuade the government from regulating the industry.
D. Assembly of the product produced according to government manufacturing specifications would be more complex than current assembly procedures.
E. None of the seven small companies currently manufactures the product to a set of specifications that would match those the government would institute if the industry were to be regulated.

OA is E but I think D is also good. E tells the fact that is quite obvious from "since none of the seven small companies can afford to convert their production lines to a new set of manufacturing specifications", while D provides another assumption from which we can confirm "one of the seven small companies can afford..."

Could you please explain it to me? Thank you very much!

IMHO, Option D is inherently assuming that manufacturing is all about assembly only which is not mentioned or assumed anywhere in the argument above. Secondly, it is also assuming that 'more complexity' means higher cost of conversion; this could be true but not necessarily.

Option E provides the link between new set of specifications and existing set of specifications.