No. USMCA qualification can remove the regular (MFN) base duty on a qualifying good, but it does not exempt that good from Section 232 steel, aluminum and copper duties, which are applied separately.
USMCA qualification and Section 232 answer different questions. USMCA asks whether a good counts as North American in origin and so earns preferential treatment on the regular duty rate. Section 232 is a national-security duty on certain metals and on products made from them. Meeting one does not switch off the other.
This is the most common mix-up with steel and aluminum products from Mexico and Canada. A shipment can qualify for USMCA and still owe Section 232 duty.
Section 232 reaches more than raw metal. A manufactured product can carry the duty because of the steel, aluminum or copper in it, even when its own classification has nothing to do with metal. So the heading has to be checked, not assumed from the chapter.
Where the metal was melted and poured can change the treatment for some products, but it works product by product and tier by tier. For certain USMCA-qualifying derivative goods, qualification is the starting point for a split treatment under HTSUS U.S. note 16(j), not an exemption.
Check qualification and Section 232 coverage as two separate steps. First work out whether the good qualifies under the USMCA rules of origin. Then check whether the tariff heading carries Section 232 duty, and what the metal’s origin does for that product. Both answers belong on the entry record.
Section 232: Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 19 U.S.C. 1862, implemented by Presidential Proclamations and HTSUS Chapter 99 (9903.8x.xx series). USMCA rules of origin: USMCA Chapter 4, implemented in 19 U.S.C. 4531 et seq. Split treatment for qualifying derivative goods: HTSUS U.S. note 16(j).
To see the stacked, cited answer for a specific entry date, use the free USMCA Qualification Check.