bargaining chip

bargaining chip (plural bargaining chips)

1. Someone or something used as a leverage in negotiations.
   • 1984 October 21, Walter Mondale, 1984 U.S. Presidential Debate:

     As a matter of fact, we have a vast range of technology and weaponry right now that provides all the bargaining chips that we need.

   • 2012 October 27, “Afghanistan: Towards a better land”, in The Economist‎:

     The money separately pledged to the security forces must not become a bargaining chip — it was after Russia cut off such cash that the government in Kabul fell in 1992.

   • 2022 December 15, Patrick Wintour, “Why Crimea is Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s greatest bargaining chip”, in The Guardian‎:

     Why Crimea is Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s greatest bargaining chip [title]

• bargaining counter

• insurance policy