bargaining chip

But he didn’t mince words in describing how airlines became a bargaining chip during the shutdown negotiations.

They have been charged with spying, though the BBC was previously told the East Sussex couple were being used as "bargaining chips" between Iran's government and the West.

The natural resource became an important bargaining chip in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, as the U.S. is heavily reliant on China to supply rare earth minerals.

The claim sent a warning to the West about risks of escalation in Ukraine and could yield a bargaining chip in potential arms negotiations with Washington.

China processes around 90% of the world's rare earths, which go into everything from solar panels to smartphones, making supply of them to US manufacturers a key bargaining chip.