DIANE
SAWYER (ABC NEWS)(OC): And now, made in America. Tonight, going almost
half a planet away. What if American manufacturers could strike gold in
the desert,
selling everything from cheesecakes to Chevrolets? And with people who have millions of dollars
to buy them. David Muir heads the Made
in America team, as you know, and joins us tonight. David?
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(OC): Diane, I know you love this.
By one estimate, the US will export $117
billion in goods
to the Arab world next year. That's 50
billion more than just two years ago. It
turns out, American
brands big
and small
striking
it rich
tonight, where they are willing to pay a premium for
made in
America.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): 20-year-old Ella Mohamed, looking in
her rearview
mirror,
looking for made in America, for two years, planning this day. Her new dream car, a shiny new Chevy bought
in Dubai.
ELLA
MOHAMED (CAR BUYER): All American cars, they have like something special. Like, you know it's an American car, even
like the look, the colors everything.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): Just look at this
show and tell ad playing out on TVs throughout the Gulf, telling for us...
ACTOR
(COMMERCIAL) Me and my father on our excellent adventure.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): Their adventure in the Dubai desert. In fact, the number one American car in the
Middle East? The Chevy Tahoe. GM tells us customers cite the way it handles in
the sand.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): Those Tahoe's are built and shipped from Arlington, Texas all
the way to their new owners in the Gulf.
American cars are hardly the only thing selling fast and furious. US exports to
the Gulf skyrocketing.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): America now the number one exporter to Saudi Arabia and Qatar,
too.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): Exporting three times what China sends there. In fact, the moment you land in Doha, the
brand new airport.
DENNIS
(DOHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT): Hi, David, I'm Dennis and I'm here at the new
Doha International Airport.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): Dennis Gutierrez telling us to look up. Those ceilings, those custom-made tiles throughout
the whole airport? Made by Ceilings
Plus, what was once a small company in Los Angeles. Now, installing 3 million square feet of
ceilings made in America.
NANCY
MERCOLINO (CEILINGS PLUS): Now, we get startled exporting, I - China, I think,
should watch out. We are the sleeping
giant and they are just waking us up.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): There's the famous fountain in front of the tallest building in
the world in Dubai. It took 18 months to
build. The
parts,
the design? Made in America. Wet Design, Sun Valley, California. The newest American hotel in Qatar, the
Hilton. They had a greeting for me.
EMPLOYEE
(HILTON): Good day, Mr. Muir. Welcome to
Qatar.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(VO): They showed us the rooms, selling American amenities,
but a much different view. And then
there's the food. We showed you what we
found in China, so many of you writing about those seafood Pringles. We found foreign flavors
in the Gulf, too - Sweet Chili Pepper Doritos, French cheese chips, cheese
ketchup Cheetos, and something else, all the way from the Windy City, Chicago
cheesecake. Eli's Cheesecake, now making
20,000 cakes a day, growing 50% in just the last year. All
because of their growing slice of overseas sales.
EMPLOYEES
(ELI'S CHEESECAKE): Made in America.
DAVID MUIR
(ABC NEWS)(OC): Who knew Eli's Cheesecakes from Chicago, now at 250 employees
because of the overseas sales. Slices of
their cheesecake, by the way, now sold by one of the biggest fast food chains
in the Gulf. And fresh in from Chicago
tonight, I've got a slice of this cheesecake for you, Diane. But you got about 11 more minutes of news I
guess to hold on to it.