diff --git a/images/nginx/cloudbuild.yaml b/images/nginx/cloudbuild.yaml
index d507b8f1a..1e524af21 100644
--- a/images/nginx/cloudbuild.yaml
+++ b/images/nginx/cloudbuild.yaml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ steps:
     entrypoint: bash
     env:
       - DOCKER_CLI_EXPERIMENTAL=enabled
-      - TAG=$_GIT_TAG
+      - TAG=$SHORT_SHA
       - BASE_REF=$_PULL_BASE_REF
       - REGISTRY=gcr.io/k8s-staging-ingress-nginx
       # default cloudbuild has HOME=/builder/home and docker buildx is in /root/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx