>You're talking about recognizing IP, I am talking about stealing IP ..."

If country does not recognize IP then "stealing" is not a theft in their eyes.

As for using force to prevent "theft": what force? Military? You might get burned really bad.

A military controlling the flow of goods into its own borders isn't going to "burn bad", it's called customs controls.

>"The issue is allowing the Chinese to steal IP and then compete in our markets with that stolen IP"

That was the original message. My understanding of "our markets" was customers of the US which include the US itself, China and many other countries. Sure the US can prohibit importing of China's goods. It can not control what happens in the rest of the world to the degree that it once could.

I did specify the 70s 80s and 90s.

Sorry no. If you can't imagine how one country couldn't use force to stop another country from stealing IP then you are either not intellectually up to this conversation or not arguing in good faith.