Congressman Smith cites the ""jobs argument"" when he argues in favor of restrictions on trade; he argues that everything can be produced at lower cost in other countries. The likely flaw in Congressman Smith’s reasoning is that he ignores the fact that

C) the gains from trade are based on comparative advantage.

Explanation:

In order for a country to engage in trade with other countries, it must be able to produce goods with a comparative advantage over other their trading partners and their production cost must be lower than the world price.

Countries may have an absolute advantage in the production of several products, but resources are scarce, and they will be able to export only those that can be produced at the lowest opportunity cost. No country is able to produce everything at the lowest opportunity cost, because producing one good means that less resources are available for producing other goods.