Asheville businesses eye tariff refunds, but relief may take time

The question for Asheville small businesses is not whether tariff refunds could help, but how much money will actually make it back into their accounts and how long it will take. Federal officials have opened a new path for valid refunds tied to IEEPA duties, but the process is limited, technical and built around paperwork that many owners say can drag on long after the bill has already hit their cash flow.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries function, known as CAPE, went live in phase 1 on April 20, 2026 inside the ACE portal. The first phase is limited to certain unliquidated entries and some entries within 80 days of liquidation. Refunds will be issued only by ACH, and importers of record or authorized customs brokers must already have an active ACE Portal account with bank information on file before any refund can be processed. CAPE declarations are submitted as CSV files through the ACE Secure Data Portal.

That matters in Buncombe County because small businesses here have been operating with thin margins since Hurricane Helene. Devils Foot Beverage Company, DoughBed and Southern Alarm and Security are among the Asheville-area names linked to the refund conversation, and the stakes are straightforward: even a modest reimbursement could help restock inventory, cover payroll or shore up operating expenses that have been stretched by higher import costs and storm-related disruption. At a press conference in Asheville on April 2, 2025, Benjamin Colvin, Wendy Brugh, Leah Ashburn, Jacob Vertel, Mary Carroll Dodd and Vincent J. Tursi III all spoke in a local discussion of tariff pressure on small businesses.

The caution comes from experience. Hi-Wire Brewing CEO Adam Charnack said in April 2025 that Helene had already cost the company 1.3 million cans, a reminder that supply shocks and higher prices have been piling up for months. For Asheville companies, the refund question is arriving in a market that has already absorbed post-storm losses, inflation and uncertainty in the supply chain.

Buncombe County has also been pumping money into recovery in smaller, more immediate doses. On Nov. 19, 2024, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners awarded $1.597 million to Mountain BizWorks for the Rebuilding Together Helene Relief small-business grant program. County officials said the broader program served 276 businesses with $3.69 million in total grants, for an average award of $11,441 in the county-funded portion. The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce said its Riverbird Research team has run Helene business surveys in spring and fall 2025 and opened a third survey in spring 2026, underscoring how long recovery has stretched on.

The chamber also opened a Business Recovery Center with the U.S. Small Business Administration at 36 Montford Ave to help firms after Helene. That local infrastructure may help owners navigate federal paperwork, but it also highlights the central reality for Asheville merchants: relief exists, yet turning it into cash will depend on who qualifies, how quickly claims move and whether the money arrives soon enough to matter.