The U.S. Customs Court (USCC) had jurisdiction over all issues of international trade before being replaced with the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) in 1980. Originally, issues of international trade and government entities were heard by the circuit courts themselves, but Congress created the Board of General Appraisers to handle most tariff and duty decisions which operated under the umbrella of the Treasury Department. After customs claims rose due to increased international trade, Congress replaced the Board of General Appraisers with the formal USCC in 1926 to properly address the flow of customs cases. Appeals from the USCC were heard by the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, the predecessor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
[Last updated in June of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]