Negotiations on the Doha Development Round began in 2001 and have been stalled on major issues including agriculture subsidies.
Trade ministers from the major groupings including the European Union and the United States decided to push forward with Doha, at a meeting in Davos, Switzerland, but have decided to set a mid-year deadline.
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"I think everyone who was in Davos recognised that the period between now and then will probably decide the fate of the round," Dr Emerson told Fairfax newspapers.
"I told those ministers who said that they were concerned that they were being asked to make too many concessions in the negotiations that they should consider what they had to lose if the Doha round collapses."
