Timing and duration of negotiations

The overall timeframe of the Doha Round negotiations was set by Ministers at the Doha Ministerial Conference: negotiations were to start in 2002 and to last until 2005. This schedule was not observed and members adopted a new timeframe for 2006 at the Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in 2005. Timeframe and deadlines in negotiation do not have any other legitimacy than the one given to them by the participants themselves. They can therefore be used as strategic tools to speed up or slow down a process. Putting pressure through work schedules or timeframes can take parties to the negotiation out of their Тcomfort zoneУ and bring about a different negotiating behaviour, such as acting more rapidly.[44] The Chair of the TNC is often using a change in deadlines and working schedules to steer the process and move members to a consensus.

This practice can be used in a collaborative or competitive manner. In the former, the deadline is set by a third party to force parties to come to an agreement. In the latter, one or few members impose a timeframe and force other parties to act. The deadlines can also be influenced by outside factors that take account of national events, such as elections of Heads of States or the renewal of negotiating mandates.[45] These events are referred to as action-forcing events.

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