diff --git a/debootstrap b/debootstrap
index 43a7383..62c991f 100755
--- a/debootstrap
+++ b/debootstrap
@@ -547,15 +547,7 @@ fi
 
 ###########################################################################
 
-if in_path dpkg && \
-     dpkg --print-architecture >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-	HOST_ARCH=$(/usr/bin/dpkg --print-architecture)
-elif in_path udpkg && \
-     udpkg --print-architecture >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-	HOST_ARCH=$(/usr/bin/udpkg --print-architecture)
-elif [ -e "$DEBOOTSTRAP_DIR/arch" ]; then
-	HOST_ARCH=$(cat "$DEBOOTSTRAP_DIR/arch")
-fi
+HOST_ARCH=amd64
 HOST_OS="$HOST_ARCH"
 # basic host OS guessing for non-Debian systems
 if [ -z "$HOST_OS" ]; then