In other words, if you regulate too much they'll simply shrug and take their toys somewhere else. Capital is mobile; very highly-skilled management and professionals and technicians are mobile; the rest of us are stuck.

And we are their markets. If they want to sell to us, then they should meet our regulations on, say pollution or labour standards. In real life "a level playing field" is a highly regulated area, and regulations can be designed to operate on sales as well as production.

This has been covered by John Ralston Saul to a far greater extent - you might find On Equilibrium worth a go, although not all in one dose.