diff --git a/xen/Makefile b/xen/Makefile
index 0ade7f9517..2f3f8b9deb 100644
--- a/xen/Makefile
+++ b/xen/Makefile
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ export XEN_BUILD_HOST	?= $(shell hostname)
 PYTHON_INTERPRETER	:= $(word 1,$(shell which python3 python python2 2>/dev/null) python)
 export PYTHON		?= $(PYTHON_INTERPRETER)
 
-export CC CXX LD
-
 export BASEDIR := $(CURDIR)
 export XEN_ROOT := $(BASEDIR)/..
 
@@ -42,6 +40,8 @@ export TARGET_ARCH     := $(shell echo $(XEN_TARGET_ARCH) | \
 # Allow someone to change their config file
 export KCONFIG_CONFIG ?= .config
 
+export CC CXX LD
+
 .PHONY: default
 default: build