GMAT Sentence Correction (SC) | Re: Even though it was no longer cost-effective

Even though it was no longer cost-effective for the government to convert metals into coins to create the currency's one-cent and five-cent pieces, a spokesperson for a grassroots organization claimed that discontinuing the coins would hurt consumersby giving merchants an excuse to round all prices up to the nearest ten cents.

1st Check Speech : Direct or indirect : a spokesperson for a grassroots organization claimed that (Indirect Speech)

Verbs cant be in present tense (unless it is universal
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