diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index d5653380f567..1cad877b9f18 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -330,9 +330,11 @@ endif
 
 freetype:
 ifdef MOZ_ENABLE_XFT
+ifndef MOZ_XFT_SYSTEM_FREETYPE2
 	$(MAKE) -C other-licenses/freetype
 	$(MAKE) -C other-licenses/freetype install
 endif
+endif
 
 expat:
 ifdef MOZ_ENABLE_XFT