J. Wu entered three shipments of T-shirts purchased from Hui, who claimed that he operated a factory in the Dominican Republic. Hui furnished information necessary for the importer's broker to prepare the import documents and to obtain a permit for entry of wearing apparel into the United States (which was required at the time). Wu declared the country of origin of the T-shirts as the Dominican Republic. Customs discovered that Hui produced the body of the T-shirts in China and shipped them to the Dominican Republic, where sleeves were attached and "Made in Dominican Republic" labels inserted. The finished shirts were then transshipped to the United States. According to law, merely attaching the sleeves did not make the shirts a product of the Dominican Republic. Chinese-made shirts could not have been imported without a textile visa, which Hui may not have been able to obtain. The government alleged that Wu acted without due care in determining the country of origin and sought penalties
1. What was Wu's motivation in stating that the shirts were made in the Dominican Republic?
2. What is the burden of proof? Must the United States prove that Wu was negligent or must Wu prove that she was not?
3. Can the importer (Wu) rely on the statements of the third party (here, the shirt exporter) to avoid responsibility?