Bargaining chip


something, as a concession or inducement, that can be used in negotiating.
Contemporary Examples

That victory for the tab became a bargaining chip in all future dealings with the superstar.
I Warned You About Bill Cosby in 2007 Mark Ebner November 19, 2014

Instead of seeing it as a bargaining chip, perhaps we should treat the GOP proposal as a serious governing document.
How Republicans Screwed the Pooch Paul Begala July 30, 2011

“Energy is used as precisely this bargaining chip,” Brown concedes.
BP, Putin, and the Power of Oil Tim Teeman March 8, 2014

Gun control advocates have told me the assault weapons ban was intended to be a bargaining chip.
Why the President Lost on Gun Control Megan McArdle April 17, 2013

noun phrase

Something to be offered, conceded, threatened, etc, in negotiations: He is using his information like a bargaining chip/ The boy isn’t just a gambling chip, Walter

[1960s+; fr the chip used in gambling]

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