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.
  

