The first step in simplifying the expression \((2x^3 - 12x^2 + 5x - 3) - (7x^3 + 10x^2 - 3x + 20)\) is to distribute the negative to the second set of parentheses.
This means you will change the signs of each term inside the second set of parentheses, resulting in the expression becoming:
\[ 2x^3 - 12x^2 + 5x - 3 - 7x^3 - 10x^2 + 3x - 20. \]