diff --git a/util.c b/util.c
index 6c68ad8..bc50dc1 100644
--- a/util.c
+++ b/util.c
@@ -468,6 +468,7 @@ _rl_savestring (s)
   return (strcpy ((char *)xmalloc (1 + (int)strlen (s)), (s)));
 }
 
+#if defined (DEBUG)
 #if defined (USE_VARARGS)
 static FILE *_rl_tracefp;
 
@@ -524,3 +525,4 @@ _rl_trclose ()
 }
 
 #endif
+#endif /* DEBUG */