South Korea reveals red “MASGA” hat that persuaded Trump during Tariff negotiation

Source: https://www.chosun.com/national/national_general/2025/08/03/FAC7Z2ZKHVFNDO4NIAPRQBTYMY/

Presidential Policy Chief Yong-beom Kim shared behind-the-scenes stories from the Korea–U.S. tariff negotiations, revealing that the shipbuilding cooperation initiative known as MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) played a key role in reaching a deal. He also unveiled the actual "MASGA cap" during the broadcast.

Appearing on KBS’s Sunday Diagnosis on the 3rd, Kim said, “The U.S. likely never imagined that Korea had made such extensive proposals and research in the field of shipbuilding,” adding, “Honestly, without the shipbuilding angle, the negotiations would have remained deadlocked.”

During the negotiations, South Korea proposed the MASGA project to the U.S. as a cooperative initiative in the shipbuilding industry. The MASGA name is a play on former President Donald Trump’s slogan, MAGA (Make America Great Again), adding "Shipbuilding" to signify "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again."

Kim displayed the MASGA cap on the show, which features white lettering on a red background, with both the American and South Korean flags placed side-by-side at the top. “We designed the cap ourselves and brought about ten of them to the U.S.,” he said. “We put everything we had into creating symbolic items like this.”

At a meeting between South Korean Minister of Industry Kim Jung-gwan and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the cap and a large presentation panel were brought to explain the MASGA investment cooperation package. Secretary Lutnick reportedly responded positively, calling it a “Great idea.”

What is MASGA?

The MASGA Project (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) is a cooperative initiative in which South Korean shipbuilding companies invest in the struggling U.S. shipbuilding industry. Under this project, Korean firms would acquire failing American shipyards and restructure them using Korean industrial management practices to rationalize and improve the industry.

The South Korean government pushed for reforms in U.S. shipbuilding laws to facilitate this effort, and the Trump administration accepted these demands.