Donald Trump’s decision to exempt Apple from looming semiconductor tariffs has cheered investors who took it as a sign that tech vendors and their suppliers could avoid the levies as long as they pledged US investment.

But industry insiders say the Trump administration’s investigation into chips — including the tools and materials used to make them, and products that contain them — will still hit many companies that lack Apple’s lobbying muscle or the money to build factories in the US.

“Other vendors of devices from notebooks to smartphones would equally have to prove that their direct investment, as well as that of their supply chain, into the US is material enough for them to get an exemption,” said Nicolas Gaudois, head of Asia-Pacific technology research at UBS. “What about all the vendors who cannot demonstrate [that]?”