diff --git a/cobra/rule.py b/cobra/rule.py
index 003aef10..cdd50a9e 100644
--- a/cobra/rule.py
+++ b/cobra/rule.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 from .config import rules_path
 from .log import logger
 from .utils import to_bool
-from xml.etree import ElementTree
+from xml.etree import cElementTree as ElementTree
 
 
 def block(index):