diff --git a/litellm/llms/vertex_httpx.py b/litellm/llms/vertex_httpx.py
index e7b31b1554..59ded6be0c 100644
--- a/litellm/llms/vertex_httpx.py
+++ b/litellm/llms/vertex_httpx.py
@@ -157,9 +157,6 @@ class VertexLLM(BaseLLM):
         } \
         "https://us-central1-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/us-central1/publishers/google/models/imagegeneration:predict"
         """
-
-        import vertexai
-
         auth_header = self._ensure_access_token()
 
         request_data = {