#6 - A company that imports and sells collectibles sought

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Strengthen—PR. The correct answer choice is (A)

Since the classification of some items can determine their associated import tariffs, a collectibles-importing company wanted to have some of its figurines classified as toys, rather than collectibles, to reduce their import tariffs. This request was based on the fact that the items amuse customers, just like toys:

• Premise: The figurines in question amuse customers, as toys do.
  
  Conclusion: The items should thus be classified as toys.

The government agency decided to reject the request, based on the fact that the items are marketed as collector’s items rather than toys:

• Premise: The items in question are marketed as collector’s items.
  
  Conclusion: Thus, they should be classified as collectibles.

The question in this case asks for the principle that most justifies (in other words, supports) the government agency’s decision to reject the company’s request. Thus, the correct answer choice will provide a principle that supports the decision to classify the items in question as collectibles rather than toys, by either directly bolstering the notion that they are properly classified as collectibles, or by weakening the assertion that they should fall under the “toy” classification.

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. If, as this answer provides, the proper classification of an item should be primarily dependent upon how the item is marketed, then, based on the government agency’s premise that the items are marketed as collectibles, this principle supports the agency’s decision to reject the company’s requested classification.

Answer choice (B): If this choice was appealing, that might be because it helps to justify the toy company’s request for the lower tariffs. This answer does not, however, help to justify the government agency’s decision to turn down the toy company’s request, so it is not the right answer to this Strengthen question.

Answer choice (C): This choice provides the principle that any item typically used as a toy should not be classified as a collectible. It is not clear that the items in question are typically used as toys (the company says only that the items amuse customers). If they were typically used as toys, however, that would only serve to weaken the agency’s justification for denial of the company’s request, not help to justify its decision, so this choice should be ruled out regardless.

Answer choice (D): If the collectible figurines in question were developed primarily to provide amusement, this choice would support the company’s request, and call the agency’s response into question; this choice certainly does not help to justify the government agency’s decision to deny the importer’s request, so it cannot be the right answer to this Strengthen question.

Answer choice (E): This choice might help to justify the importer’s marketing decisions, but it does not support the government agency’s denial of the company’s request.

[BrettKobes]

I am terrible with Justify the conclusion with a principle Questions, Can you help me with tackling this problem please? They are just like Justify the conclusion (sufficient assumption) questions right?

Can you spell his problem out for me please?

[Lucas Moreau]

Hello, Brett,

This is almost like a Justify the Conclusion question - it's a Strengthen question. Justify and Strengthen questions are very similar to each other! The key difference is that a Strengthen answer choice merely helps prove the conclusion asserted in the stimulus, while a Justify answer choice conclusively proves the conclusion, without any doubt. Easy to mix up, though...

For this one in particular, the government has decided to classify the figurines as collector's items rather than toys, over the company's protests. There are two factors at work here:

- The company wants the figurines marked as toys
- The figurines are marketed as collector's items

Since the government chose to classify the figurines as collector's items, the second factor must be more important than the first. That means that the correct answer choice has to give a principle to the government that would cause them to favor how the figurines are marketed over how the company wants them to be classified.

A is the best answer choice there. If the classification should be primarily based on how the item is marketed, then classifying the figurines as collector's items is the correct decision.

Notice that it says "should depend primarily upon"! That means that there could be other factors besides how the items are marketed that could affect how they're classified. This is a Strengthen answer choice, not a Justify answer choice. If this were a Justify answer choice, it might say something closer to "The tariff classification of an item should always be the same as how the item is marketed." See the difference?

Hope that helps,
Lucas Moreau