Lighting poles: the 25 % safeguard and local sourcing

Every lighting pole imported into Morocco carries a 25 % ad valorem safeguard duty whatever its origin: tariff line 7308.90.10, metal supports 3 to 12 m high carrying one or more luminaires, provisional since 3 September 2021, definitive since the joint arrêté of 11 March 2025 and amended on 8 June 2026. For a solar public-lighting project, the rational answer to the Morocco safeguard duty on street light poles is to buy the pole from a Moroccan fabricator working to NM EN 40-5 and NM ISO 1461, and to import only the solar head, the panel, the battery and the brackets. This guide details the text of the measure, the logic of local sourcing, how head-only imports work and the LS-P6 pole drawings that LALOGO supplies to Moroccan fabricators.

What is the 25 % safeguard duty on lighting poles?

A safeguard measure is not an anti-dumping duty: it targets a product rather than a country and applies to all origins. The product defined by public notice DDC/03/2021 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the metal support 3 to 12 m high carrying one or more luminaires — the shaft, with or without extension or bracket arm. Tariff line 7308.90.10.00 was created by Arrêté 7009-21 of 2 August 2021 (poles previously fell under 7308.20.00.00 and 7308.90.00.00) to isolate this product.

The figures behind the measure are in the notice: pole imports rose from 8,285 t in 2015 to 15,104 t in 2020 (+82 %), and the ratio of imports to domestic production from 87 % to 110 %. The content of the 8 June 2026 amendment (rate, duration, quota, exemptions) is unverified at the date of this article: we write ‘definitive measure since March 2025, amended June 2026’ and refer readers to their customs broker for the applicable rate.

Not to be confused with the 27 % anti-dumping duty on LED luminaires (HS 9405.42.00.10), which concerns Chinese origin only and does not cover the pole.

Why buy the pole in Morocco rather than import it?

Because the safeguard erases the price arbitrage: at 25 % on all origins, an imported pole loses most of its advantage before freight is even counted. The pole is also the bulkiest component of a solar street light: a 6 m conical shaft fills a container lengthwise, whereas an LS-A60 all-in-one head measures 790 × 430 × 55 mm and weighs 8.2 kg, and a 15,000 lm LS-A140 fits in 1,865 × 430 × 55 mm at 21.8–23.9 kg.

The standard allows it without reservation. Draft NM 06.8.001 (§5.7) calls for a pole conforming to NM EN 40-4, -5, -6, -7 or NM EN 14229, hot-dip galvanised to NM ISO 1461, with a corrosivity class per NM ISO 12944, and accepts factory or on-site assembly. The IMANOR guide of February 2026 likewise refers poles to parts NM EN 40-2 to -7 (steel -5, aluminium -6). A Moroccan fabricator that bends, welds and galvanises to these references supplies a pole the contracting authority can require in the specification, since Law 12-06 (art. 35) and Decree 2-22-431 (art. 5) make reference to NM standards mandatory.

A local pole also brings what an import does not: a foundation and anchor cage sized on site, a bracket arm matched to the road width, a battery box at the pole base or in the foundation (NM 06.8.001 §5.4), and the §9 marking plate (unique ID, trademark, year, battery, the reference ‘NM 06.8.001’). On the coast, NM ISO 1461 galvanising (mean coating ≥ 85 µm on steel ≥ 6 mm, 70 µm on 3–6 mm) is completed by a duplex polyester powder coat: ISO 9223 puts zinc loss at 4.2–8.4 µm/yr in marine class C5 and at 2.1–4.2 µm/yr in C4, so an 85 µm coating is consumed in about ten years in C5 (85 ÷ 8.4) against 20 to 40 years in C4.

How do head-only imports work?

The principle: import what contains the technology and make locally what contains the steel. The pole is of Moroccan origin (25 % safeguard on imported poles, HS 7308.90.10); the customs classification of the luminaire is confirmed by our customs broker.

In practice, an all-in-one head mounts on a Ø 60 mm spigot with a tilt-adjustable bracket and accepts 5 to 8 m poles; the Moroccan fabricator only needs that dimension and the head load. A split kit LS-S60 combines an LED head of 50–60 W, an 80–120 Wp panel on a tilting LS-B bracket (15–45°) and a LiFePO4 12.8 V 30–50 Ah battery housed at the pole top or in a buried box: the 5–6 m galvanised conical pole is bought in Morocco. A retrofit head LS-H60 (LED 60 W, 40 Wp panel, IP65) goes further: the existing sodium pole stays in place, with no new pole and no trench.

What do the LS-P6 pole drawings supplied by LALOGO contain?

The LS-P6 is not a pole that LALOGO imports: it is a set of drawings handed to Moroccan fabricators to produce the pole our heads expect, presented in the poles, brackets and accessories category. It describes a conical shaft in hot-dip galvanised Q235 steel, in heights of 5.7 / 5.8 / 6 / 6.8 / 7.8 m, wall thickness 1.5 to 2.75 mm, with anchor cage. The height follows the head and the target spacing:

Two requirements of the standard guide the drawing: the lower edge of the PV module must stay at least 3 m above finished ground (NM 06.8.001 §5.2), and the target NM EN 13201 lighting class fixes the height/spacing pair. The wind calculation of the pole and the foundation design remain the fabricator's and the design office's responsibility; LALOGO supplies the mass and dimensions of each head, and the wind rating of the luminaires is available on request.

How much does a public-lighting pole cost in Morocco?

LALOGO publishes no pole price because we do not sell poles: the pole is ordered in Morocco, on the fabricator's quotation, from the LS-P6 drawings. The price of a public-lighting pole depends on height (the 6 m pole is the most requested, as Arabic searches for ‘سعر عمود إنارة 6 متر’ show), wall thickness, single or duplex galvanising, the bracket arm, the anchor cage and transport to site; foundation and installation are priced separately. To compare two quotations, require the same height, the same thickness, the NM EN 40-5 reference and the NM ISO 1461 zinc thickness.

Key takeaways

• 25 % ad valorem safeguard duty on poles and luminaire supports 3 to 12 m high (HS 7308.90.10), all origins, definitive since March 2025, amended in June 2026.
• Local sourcing: no safeguard duty, no steel freight, NM EN 40 / NM ISO 1461 conformity evidenced locally, battery box and marking built in.
• Head-only import: the head, the panel, the battery and the LS-B brackets travel; the pole, the bracket arm, the anchor cage and the foundation are Moroccan.
• LS-P6 drawings: hot-dip galvanised Q235 conical shaft, 5.7 to 7.8 m, wall 1.5–2.75 mm, anchor cage; greater heights on an NM EN 40-5 study.
• The pole is of Moroccan origin (25 % safeguard on imported poles, HS 7308.90.10); the customs classification of the luminaire is confirmed by our customs broker.

Sources

• Le360, public-lighting poles: Morocco imposes safeguard measures on imports (in French) — https://fr.le360.ma/economie/candelabres-pour-leclairage-public-le-maroc-impose-des-mesures-de-sauvegarde-sur-les-importations-246094/
• Ministry of Industry and Trade (MCINET), public notice DDC/03/2021 on safeguard measures — https://www.mcinet.gov.ma
• IMANOR, draft standard NM 06.8.001 (public enquiry EP 52/2024) — https://www.imanor.gov.ma/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/EP-52-2024-DC-30-09-2024-PNM-06.8.001.pdf
• IMANOR, guide on applying standards in public procurement – public lighting (February 2026) — https://www.imanor.gov.ma/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/guide-specifique-IMANOR-Eclairage-public.pdf
• American Galvanizers Association, hot-dip galvanizing corrosion rates for ISO 9223 categories C1 to CX — https://galvanizeit.org/knowledgebase/article/hdg-corrosion-rates-for-iso-categories-c1-c5-x
• Moroccan public procurement portal — https://www.marchespublics.gov.ma/