Starting from 'For example, because of wage differentials between the countries, U.S. apparel-makers would need to be 2.5 times more productive than firms in Hong Kong to be  competitive. ', does it naturally lead to the conclusion 'To compete with Hong Kong firms the U.S. apparel-makers had to be more than twice as productive.'
For example, because of wage differentials between the countries, U.S. apparel-makers would need to be 2.5 times more productive than firms in Hong Kong to be  competitive. ###To compete with Hong Kong firms the U.S. apparel-makers had to be more than twice as productive.