YEUTTER PUTS CURRENCY BURDEN ON TAIWAN, KOREA Responsibility for the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar and the South Korean Won lies soley with those countries, said U.S. trade representative Clayton Yeutter Speaking to the Asia Society, Yeutter said that it is in those countries' own long-term interest to raise the value of their currencies against the dollar. Yeutter was responding to a question about what the U.S. could do to encourage appreciation of those currencies against the dollar in order to reduce the large U.S. trade deficits with Taiwain and Korea. "An undervalued currency will help those countries' exports in the short term, but in the long run they have to be concerned about how they are perceived in the international business community," Yeutter said. For Taiwan, Yeutter said that with its per capita trade surplus with the U.S., much larger than that of Japan's, and with huge foreign exchange reserves, it was difficult to defend the high import tarrifs and other barriers that prevail in that country. He also said that the south Korean Won should begin to move to reflect underlying economic fundamentals, "otherwise in two or three years' time, Korea will be in the same situation that prevails in Taiwan." Turning to the U.S. deficit with Japan of more than 50 billion dlrs, Yeutter said that this situation was not sustainable. "Something must give soon. If not, there is a great threat of U.S. legislative action to counteract that trend," Yeutter said.