In each of the past four years, the percent increase of the profits of Japan’s five largest semiconductor firms has been less than that of the year before. This trend marks a severe departure from the industry’s peak in 1993, when revenues of each of these five firms grew at an average annual rate of 47 percent since the beginning of the decade. Clearly, the trade deficit law enacted by the Japanese government in 1993 has had an adverse effect on the industry, which accounts for a large portion of the Japanese gross domestic product.

The conclusion of the argument above cannot be true unless which of the following is true?

A. Japan’s gross domestic product has also shrunk since 1993.

B. The original goal of most trade-deficit laws is to protect domestic products from cheaper imports, yet not every one achieves this goal.

C. The five companies mentioned have encountered new pressure from smaller companies that hold patents on newer semiconductor technology.

D. Profits of semiconductor companies would have kept climbing steadily if the government had not passed its 1993 trade-deficit bill.

E. Many other sectors of Japanese commerce, such as its auto industry, have also suffered declining profits since 1993.


OA D

Source: Princeton Review