diff --git a/confluent_osdeploy/common/initramfs/opt/confluent/bin/apiclient b/confluent_osdeploy/common/initramfs/opt/confluent/bin/apiclient
index dc2d8e4b..d9cfb2dc 100644
--- a/confluent_osdeploy/common/initramfs/opt/confluent/bin/apiclient
+++ b/confluent_osdeploy/common/initramfs/opt/confluent/bin/apiclient
@@ -16,12 +16,13 @@ import sys
 import struct
 import time
 import re
-import hmac
 import hashlib
 try:
     import json
+    import hmac
 except ImportError:
     json = None
+    hmac = None
 
 class InvalidApiKey(Exception):
     pass