In decade long quest, Pascrell proposes bill to drop price of pickled peppers

Multisyllabic chemicals, specialized electronic components and even crock pots and squash rackets could be imported without federal tariffs under a 507-page bill exempting nearly 1,700 products that the House of Representatives passed unanimously earlier this month.

But along with "hydroxylmethylpentanone" and "electric breakfast sandwich makers ... designed for use with round bread," the bill also would lift import duties from the price of pickled peppers.

Slightly spicy green peppers known as pepperoncini, specifically.

And that pleases the top-ranking Democrat on the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Bill Pascrell of Paterson. He first sponsored a bill to exempt one of his favorite additions to Italian food more than a decade ago.

"Folks who like their antipasto, their Italian subs and salad or pizza with some extra heat, would be pleased to enjoy tariff relief on pepperoncini, either packed in oil or not," Pascrell, the chairman of the Italian American Congressional Delegation, said as the House debated the bill Jan. 16.

The massive tariff bill is the product of several years of negotiations that included decisions by the International Trade Commission and a recognition in Congress that exempting products that were not made or grown in the United States from tariffs it did not violate the House ban on "earmarks," the special line items lawmakers once put in spending bills to fund pet projects.

"That allowed us to pass this legislation so that we can really help American businesses and not just B-S them like a lot of politicians do," Pascrell said.

The bill is a top priority of the National Association of Manufacturers, and Pascrell said New Jersey would be the second-biggest beneficiary because chemical companies rely on imported materials to make their products.

It will also help defense contractors, Pascrell said. He cited ICF Mercantile, which recently moved from Fort Lee to Warren and imports a special type of high-tenacity rayon yarn, also exempted from tariffs in the bill, to make components for Navy systems.

But the bill would also be a bonus for "those of us who love pizza and other Italian goodies," Pascrell said.

"I eat a lot of pepperoncini," he said in his office a day after the vote. "I eat 'em on sandwiches, I have it plain, I put it in salads. ... It's got a little bite to it, vinegary, as I would say, and it's good."

The pepperoncini (pronounced pep-per-ohn-see-knee) is similar to the banana pepper with its mild heat, and aficionados of spicy peppers argue about which is better and how to tell them apart.

Pepperoncini can be eaten straight out of the jar or used as ingredients in other products. One company makes pepperoncini flavored potato chips.

Pascrell recalls being teased about his support for lifting import duties on the peppers when he was interviewed in 2006 by then-Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert for a segment of the "Better Know a District" series. That portion of the interview did not make the clip that survives online, however.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the tariff bill, which suspends duties for three years, would reduce federal revenues by $823 million.

How much of that is attributable to pepperoncini is hard to tell, however.

At Corrado's market in Clifton, a bottle of Beirut brand pepperoncini, imported by Baroody Imports of Clifton, costs $2.49 a quart. Cento brand, imported from Italy, are a more costly $2.29 for just 12 ounces.

Pascrell shrugged when asked how those prices would change under the bill, which still must be approved by the Senate.

"Each bottle? I don't know. 15 cents? 10 cents?" he said.