diff --git a/Lib/distutils/msvccompiler.py b/Lib/distutils/msvccompiler.py
index ae5e2d767a6..e58e6c10c81 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/msvccompiler.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/msvccompiler.py
@@ -20,10 +20,7 @@ from distutils.ccompiler import \
 
 _can_read_reg = 0
 try:
-    try:
-        import _winreg
-    except ImportError:
-        import winreg                   # for pre-2000/06/29 CVS Python
+    import _winreg
 
     _can_read_reg = 1
     hkey_mod = _winreg