Country X imposes heavy tariffs on imported manufactured goods. Compan

Hello, kntombat. Yes, the word sustainable works here as a necessary tie-in to profits in the long term from the passage—the word is not used in the environmental sense. The idea is that if a market in Country X exists only at present for the manufactured goods in question, there is less of a prospect for success in seeing through this plan; if demand remains high, though, it seems reasonable for Company Y to take such a risk.

To be honest, I was surprised to see that 20 percent of members chose (E), as it introduces a concern that is marginally related to the plan at best. (And would it make a difference if labor costs were the same?) (A) and (C) are the two strongest contenders, in my view, but if you think of the plan in simple terms, Company Y wants to increase its profits. To increase profits, the company has to sell its manufactured goods, plain and simple. (A) reminds me of the kind of answer I would chase when I was getting started in my preparation. It sounds perfectly reasonable, but if you think about it, permits could just as easily be swapped out with land, workers, materials to build the factory, and so on. That makes (A) seem kind of arbitrary. But without a sustainable market for its goods in (C), the plan falls apart, for reasons discussed above.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew