Ten years ago, U.S. PIRG was among the leading groups that founded the TransAtlantic Consumers Dialogue, which is holding its Tenth Annual Meeting in Brussels this week. TACD.org is a successful effort to build our capacity to counter the influence- peddling and deregulatory demands of powerful business interests in U.S. and European trade matters. This cross-Atlantic influence peddling by powerful firms and associations including those of the big PhRMA drug companies, book, music and film publishers, chemical companies, banks, other financial firms and others ultimately affects global commerce and the rights of consumers in old and new world developed countries and also developing south countries. Along with representatives of other U.S. groups including Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, IATP, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumers League, Consumer Action, Center for Digital Democracy and our counterpart groups from European nations, we are engaging with the U.S. and European Union governments on a variety of matters listed at the links above. These matters range from responding to pandemics and the global financial meltdown to behavioral targeting on the Internet, the use of unregulated nanotechnology in sunscreen and other products, climate change and food safety. Also, following the annual meeting Monday and Tuesday, we co-host additional conferences on Wednesday on both the abusive use of copyright and patent intellectual property rights and regulating nanotechnology in food and consumer products. The property rights conference will also emphasize the abject failure of governments to conduct trade and treaty negotiations in open, transparent fora.