Bunuel wrote:
In North America, of the people who buy cell phones, the percentage of people who bought phones from local manufacturers has decreased by five percent in the past one year. Since many local phone manufacturers in North America depend heavily on the local population for their customer base, this reduction is likely to have caused a noticeable negative economic effect on these manufacturers.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) In the past year, the total number of people buying new cell phones has increased considerably in North America.
(B) Some people from Asia also buy cell phones from manufacturers in North America.
(C) The cost price of cell phones has increased considerably, and so the selling price has also increased correspondingly.
(D) Many new cell phone manufacturers have entered the market in North America.
(E) Those who do not purchase from local manufacturers do not pay a high price for phones.
If more people are buying cell phones overall, then the decrease in percentage of people buying from local manufacturers may not have caused a negative economic effect on them.
Choice A weakens the argument. Choice B is irrelevant because it doesn't address the local manufacturers in North America.
Choice C is also irrelevant because it talks about the price of cell phones, not the percentage of people buying from local manufacturers.
Choice D could go either way, as it could lead to more competition and negatively impact the existing manufacturers, or it could bring in more customers for local manufacturers.
Choice E is also irrelevant as it doesn't address the economic effect on local manufacturers.