diff --git a/guix/scripts/perform-download.scm b/guix/scripts/perform-download.scm
index 045dd84ad6..c869f19502 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/perform-download.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/perform-download.scm
@@ -108,6 +108,10 @@ (define* (perform-git-download drv output
            (drv-output (assoc-ref (derivation-outputs drv) "out"))
            (algo       (derivation-output-hash-algo drv-output))
            (hash       (derivation-output-hash drv-output)))
+      ;; Commands such as 'git submodule' expect Coreutils and sed (among
+      ;; others) to be in $PATH.
+      (setenv "PATH" "/run/current-system/profile/bin:/bin:/usr/bin")
+
       (git-fetch-with-fallback url commit output
                                #:recursive? recursive?
                                #:git-command %git))))