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if any country rides the peak of the Omicron variant, hoping to see some kind of stabilization from it, many have chosen to close their borders to people and businesses for a few weeks to avoid overwhelming hospitals. We are seeing stricter restrictions and stricter boundaries than we are used to outside of the COVID-19 Pandemic world. As more and more variants emerge, it’s a good idea to explore how border closures affect businesses, customers, and how you can prepare your business for another potential closure.

For whom do border closures have the most consequences? There are a few contenders. The largest group of people affected are: small to medium businesses that are close to the closed border. This has an influence on many countries such as the United States, Mexico and Canada. Particularly at the beginning of 2021, in El Paso, Texas, United States, the unemployment rate rose to 7.4%because many frontier workers could not come to work. The same issues affect businesses located in the Northern United States, as Canadian citizens who are also frontier workers or customers are unable to come to their workplace/retail.

Another group is those who produce their goods, or parts of their goods, in another country and import them to the country where the sale will take place. Companies that do not belong to any of these groups also experience volatile share prices, leading to events such as the recent acquisition questions at companies like Kohls and Peloton.

The last group to be seriously affected are travelers and companies active in the tourist market. Japan recently closed its limits for about a month for all tourists, displacing tourism companies, airlines and tourists themselves. You can read more about the influence of the Omicron variant on international travel here.

So, with the borders closing or restrictions tightening, how can you prepare your business? If you are hiring or starting to work with people outside your home country, first make sure you have the personal and employment tax laws from your environment and theirs. Tax laws can vary, which can lead to potential problems for your country if they go undetected or are resolved. The next way you can prepare is by: reappraisal of growth opportunities and have a backup plan for collecting and shipping materials. Although we have the shipping industry improved significantly during the pandemic, it is still important to have a plan with your unique product on how to ship and what the best methods are to use. In general, make a plan and stick to it, let your business be flexible, and stay on top of the latest laws and regulations surrounding your product, where it’s going and where it’s coming in.