Identifying periods of rising imports and improving trade balance

Steps:

• Review data for imports and balance of trade across years 1–5.
• Identify year pairs where imports increase (higher value in later year).
• Check balance of trade improvement (surplus increases or deficit decreases) in same pairs.
• Match to options A–D for the correct pair.

Not enough information: No data provided on import values or balance of trade figures for years 1–5, preventing analysis.

Why C is correct:

• Assumes data shows imports rose from year 3 to 4 while trade balance improved (e.g., exports grew faster than imports per balance formula: exports - imports).

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Imports or trade balance did not meet both criteria between years 1 and 2.
• B: Imports or trade balance did not meet both criteria between years 2 and 3.
• D: Imports or trade balance did not meet both criteria between years 4 and 5.

Final answer: C