Some analysts maintain that an embargo by country Litora on the export

Some analysts maintain that an embargo by country Litora on the export of a strategic metal to country Zenda, if imposed, would drive up the price of the metal in Zenda at least tenfold. They note that few other countries export the metal and that, with an embargo, Zenda might have to depend on as-yet-unexploited domestic sources of the metal.

Which of the following, if true, constitutes the most serious objection to the analysis above?


(A) Litora’s economy depends heavily on foreign currency earned by the export of the strategic metal to other countries.

(B) There are foreign-policy steps that Zenda could take to appease Litora and avoid being subjected to an embargo on the metal.

(C) Geologists believe that additional deposits of the metal could possibly be found within the territory of Litora.

(D) Only a small proportion of Zenda’s import expenditures is devoted to the import of the metal from Litora.

(E) In case of an embargo, Zenda could buy the metal indirectly from Litora on the world market at a less than one-third increase in cost.