steel manufacturers

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steel manufacturers

by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:10 am
In Turinan, steel manufacturers are suffering declining sales as a result of foreign steel imports that are cheaper than domestic steel. Many of these foreign imports are less expensive because the governments of the countries from which they originate subsidize their steel industries, in violation of international accord. Regardless, jobs in the steel industry in Turinan are going to disappear thanks to this foreign competition unless something is done to counteract it. Therefore, to protect the steel industry in Turinan, as well as employment in other industrial sectors, the government of Turinan should levy heavy tariffs against foreign steel imports.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the above argument?
A. Steel produced in Turinan is rarely competitive on the world market, partially as a result of the fact that the steel industry in Turinan is not subsidized by the government.
B. No clear penalties for violating the international ban on government subsidization of steel manufacture have been specified to date.
C. Many non-steel manufacturers in Turinan must contend with heavy competition, both at home and on the world market, and steel represents a large proportion of their materials costs.
D. Government subsidies are not the only factor contributing to the availability of lower-cost foreign steel products that are currently threatening the steel industry of Turinan.
E. Steelworkers in Turinan, on average, earn higher wages than do steelworkers in many of the countries from which the referenced foreign steel imports originate.
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:23 am
I would choose D

A- this actually strengthens

B- This is irrelevant

C- This is the tangential answer, it weakens but it weakens something the stimulus never addressed

D- Correct

E- This is out of scope
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by reply2spg » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:41 am
D IMO...OA please

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:58 am
reply2spg wrote:D IMO...OA please
He seems to take forever to post the OAs. I even sent him a PM asking him to post it. I think I am done replying to his threads until he has already posted the OA.
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by fibbonnaci » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:22 am
conclusion: to protect the steel industry in Turinan, the government of Turinan should levy heavy tariffs against foreign steel imports.

Premise: Many of these foreign imports are less expensive because the governments of the countries subsidize their steel industries.

Lets look at our options now :

A. Steel produced in Turinan is rarely competitive on the world market, partially as a result of the fact that the steel industry in Turinan is not subsidized by the government. [This strengthens the argument. It says that tariffs imposed will deliver the desired effect. Eliminated]

B. No clear penalties for violating the international ban on government subsidization of steel manufacture have been specified to date. [if the penalties exist so what? how is the conclusion affected? Eliminated!]

C. Many non-steel manufacturers in Turinan must contend with heavy competition, both at home and on the world market, and steel represents a large proportion of their materials costs. [This is a strengthner again!It tells that steel represents a large proportion of material costs so an increase in the tariffs will force them to look at local manufacturers. Eliminated!]

D. Government subsidies are not the only factor contributing to the availability of lower-cost foreign steel products that are currently threatening the steel industry of Turinan. [ My answer. It correctly points out that cost is not the only reason.say the quality is extremely good. therefore evn if Turania imposes tariffs on imports, it may not affect the consumption coz of some other attraction in the product!]

E. Steelworkers in Turinan, on average, earn higher wages than do steelworkers in many of the countries from which the referenced foreign steel imports originate.[ steel workers earning higher wages does not imply anything. Eliminated!]

Hope this helps!

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by gmatmachoman » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:35 am
Nikil,

As rightly said by Fibo,there could be "someother factor" namely quality or a specific property like corrosion resistance/tensile strength in the foreign manufacturer's steel that forces the users to import them rather than using the domestic steel.

Or else it could be some inherent weakness in domestic steel that forces the endusers to import foreign steel.

Just becox Govt imposes heavy tariif on end users for buying foreign steel wont really solve the problem of decline in domestic sales.


I really liked this CR....It's a typical GMAT style based!

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by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:44 am
OA C
The reason given is :
, if non-steel producing industry uses a significant amount of steel as a material for production, then government tariffs on foreign steel imports mean higher materials costs to these industries. Higher costs probably means lower profits. Lower profits very likely means declining jobs in non-steel producing industrial sectors. And that can hardly be called "protecting employment in other industrial sectors.

I too selected D , but cant find any suitable reason to kick out D ??

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by Osirus@VeritasPrep » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:47 am
That answer is wrong. That answer does not address how to help the country's domestic steel industry. What's the source?
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by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:49 am
osirus0830 wrote:
reply2spg wrote:D IMO...OA please
He seems to take forever to post the OAs. I even sent him a PM asking him to post it. I think I am done replying to his threads until he has already posted the OA.
Dude If i post the answer with the post then people tend to modify their thinking according to the OA.
Hence I wait for a while before disclosing answers.
If you call 2 hrs forever .. thanks a lot for your comments.

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by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:50 am
osirus0830 wrote:That answer is wrong. That answer does not address how to help the country's domestic steel industry. What's the source?
If you read carefully the Cr says:
as well as employment in other industrial sectors, then this option does make sense as jobs in other industries might get affected.
Gmat is the source
Last edited by kaulnikhil on Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by gmatmachoman » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:53 am
kaulnikhil wrote:OA C
The reason given is :
, if non-steel producing industry uses a significant amount of steel as a material for production, then government tariffs on foreign steel imports mean higher materials costs to these industries. Higher costs probably means lower profits. Lower profits very likely means declining jobs in non-steel producing industrial sectors. And that can hardly be called "protecting employment in other industrial sectors.

I too selected D , but cant find any suitable reason to kick out D ??
Boss u r extremely right...

U wont believe when i started to write C as my answer, I saw Fibo, osirus as D.. Then I took exactly 20 more minutes and oiled..oiled..oiled..rubbed my brain to find any reason to select C or reject D..
and I stared at my lappie and laughed may I was crazy to select C...I felt may i wa s inconsistent.

Bro, it turned out to be C..Lovely man....

And the OE is awesome....

Guys...I don't know how to react,but I am happy !!

U know wat,some moments makes us HAPPY..and this is one....!!

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by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:54 am
gmatmachoman wrote:
kaulnikhil wrote:OA C
The reason given is :
, if non-steel producing industry uses a significant amount of steel as a material for production, then government tariffs on foreign steel imports mean higher materials costs to these industries. Higher costs probably means lower profits. Lower profits very likely means declining jobs in non-steel producing industrial sectors. And that can hardly be called "protecting employment in other industrial sectors.

I too selected D , but cant find any suitable reason to kick out D ??
Boss u r extremely right...

U wont believe when i started to write C as my answer, I saw Fibo, osirus as D.. Then I took exactly 20 more minutes and oiled..oiled..oiled..rubbed my brain to find any reason to select C or reject D..
and I stared at my lappie and laughed may I was crazy to select C...I felt may i wa s inconsistent.

Bro, it turned out to be C..Lovely man....

And the OE is awesome....

Guys...I don't know how to react,but I am happy !!

U know wat,some moments makes us HAPPY..and this is one....!!
Can you please explain why did you omit D?

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by gmatmachoman » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:55 am
kaulnikhil wrote:
osirus0830 wrote:
reply2spg wrote:D IMO...OA please
He seems to take forever to post the OAs. I even sent him a PM asking him to post it. I think I am done replying to his threads until he has already posted the OA.
Dude If i post the answer with the post then people tend to modify their thinking according to the OA.
Hence I wait for a while before disclosing answers.
If you call 2 hrs forever .. thanks a lot for your comments.
Easy bro..easy...DOnt be serious..U think i would have posted 1000 odd posts if I wuld have been serious when people reacted...

I fully agree with u for givin sometime for the OA..a Day is very fine...!!U r very lenient 2 hrs is not at all a crime!!

U r sure rite?? OA is C..Becox I am jumping here for that answer!!

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by kaulnikhil » Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:56 am
gmatmachoman wrote:
kaulnikhil wrote:
osirus0830 wrote:
reply2spg wrote:D IMO...OA please
He seems to take forever to post the OAs. I even sent him a PM asking him to post it. I think I am done replying to his threads until he has already posted the OA.
Dude If i post the answer with the post then people tend to modify their thinking according to the OA.
Hence I wait for a while before disclosing answers.
If you call 2 hrs forever .. thanks a lot for your comments.
Easy bro..easy...DOnt be serious..U think i would have posted 1000 odd posts if I wuld have been serious when people reacted...

I fully agree with u for givin sometime for the OA..a Day is very fine...!!U r very lenient 2 hrs is not at all a crime!!

U r sure rite?? OA is C..Becox I am jumping here for that answer!!
Yeah OA C ..It seems you scored a 700 :P

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by fibbonnaci » Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:04 pm
See higher costs means lower profits to the company and hence they turn to the local industries.
Now local industries jobs are safe. and hence the program is protecting the local guys.
There is no reason to assume that the companies are gonna stick with the import steel even though their prices are going to rise.
The program is initiated to protect the local industries, and i dont see a reason why this companies need to stick to higher import rates and pull themselves into loss?
Honestly, i would need one more statement to tell that companies will not shift their preferences no matter what coz of some other special feature of the imported steel.
If Chennai can produce the same steel as in Delhi, why would an industry in Chennai insist on getting the steel from Delhi inspite of the Delhi steel being greater in price???
I still dont buy C. There are so many inherent assumptions in it.
Last edited by fibbonnaci on Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.