Abbreviation for "Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau" (Bureau for the Taxation and Trade of Alcohol and Tobacco). This U.S. agency, established at the beginning of 2003, emerged from the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives). Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center, the "Homeland Security Act" came into effect in 2002. In connection with this, a division of responsibilities occurred.
\r\n\r\nThe corresponding responsibilities and functions regarding alcohol and tobacco were separated from the BATF and assigned to the TTB. These include the approval of the design, conditions, and labeling of winelabel and packaging, and partly of wine advertising and the wine trade; the approval or denial of official permits for new wine products; the monitoring of records and tracking of production techniques, quantities, logistics, and the collection of alcohol taxes; as well as the approval or denial of applications for new wine regions in the USA. Thus, the agency is responsible for the U.S. appellation system AVA (American Viticultural Area). TTB belongs to the Department of the Treasury, while BATF remains under the Department of Justice. See also under Weinbau-Institutionen.
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