Identifying period of rising imports and improving trade balance

Steps:

• Examine import values year-over-year to find where they increase.
• Calculate balance of trade (exports minus imports) for each pair of years.
• Check for improvement in balance (less deficit or more surplus).
• Identify the pair meeting both criteria: higher imports and better balance.

Why C is correct:

• Between years 3 and 4, imports rose while exports grew faster, improving the trade balance per the formula (BOT = Exports - Imports).

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Imports decreased between 1 and 2.
• B: Trade balance worsened between 2 and 3 despite import changes.
• D: Imports fell between 4 and 5.

Final answer: C