diff --git a/android/sdk.go b/android/sdk.go
index 42f95b7..bd2f5d1 100644
--- a/android/sdk.go
+++ b/android/sdk.go
@@ -738,6 +738,11 @@
 	//   A field annotated with a tag of `sdk:"ignore"` will be treated as if it
 	//   was not capitalized, i.e. ignored and not optimized for common values.
 	//
+	//   A field annotated with a tag of `sdk:"keep"` will not be cleared even if the value is common
+	//   across multiple structs. Common values will still be copied into the common property struct.
+	//   So, if the same value is placed in all structs populated from variants that value would be
+	//   copied into all common property structs and so be available in every instance.
+	//
 	//   A field annotated with a tag of `android:"arch_variant"` will be allowed to have
 	//   values that differ by arch, fields not tagged as such must have common values across
 	//   all variants.
diff --git a/sdk/sdk_test.go b/sdk/sdk_test.go
index 4be1e79..2f9aee9 100644
--- a/sdk/sdk_test.go
+++ b/sdk/sdk_test.go
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@
 	name          string
 	private       string
 	Public_Ignore string `sdk:"ignore"`
+	Public_Keep   string `sdk:"keep"`
 	S_Common      string
 	S_Different   string `android:"arch_variant"`
 	A_Common      []string
@@ -247,6 +248,7 @@
 			name:          "struct-0",
 			private:       "common",
 			Public_Ignore: "common",
+			Public_Keep:   "keep",
 			S_Common:      "common",
 			S_Different:   "upper",
 			A_Common:      []string{"first", "second"},
@@ -262,6 +264,7 @@
 			name:          "struct-1",
 			private:       "common",
 			Public_Ignore: "common",
+			Public_Keep:   "keep",
 			S_Common:      "common",
 			S_Different:   "lower",
 			A_Common:      []string{"first", "second"},
@@ -285,6 +288,7 @@
 			name:          "common",
 			private:       "",
 			Public_Ignore: "",
+			Public_Keep:   "keep",
 			S_Common:      "common",
 			S_Different:   "",
 			A_Common:      []string{"first", "second"},
@@ -303,6 +307,7 @@
 			name:          "struct-0",
 			private:       "common",
 			Public_Ignore: "common",
+			Public_Keep:   "keep",
 			S_Common:      "",
 			S_Different:   "upper",
 			A_Common:      nil,
@@ -321,6 +326,7 @@
 			name:          "struct-1",
 			private:       "common",
 			Public_Ignore: "common",
+			Public_Keep:   "keep",
 			S_Common:      "",
 			S_Different:   "lower",
 			A_Common:      nil,
diff --git a/sdk/update.go b/sdk/update.go
index f20f1d6..92a13fa 100644
--- a/sdk/update.go
+++ b/sdk/update.go
@@ -2172,6 +2172,11 @@
 	// Retrieves the value on which common value optimization will be performed.
 	getter fieldAccessorFunc
 
+	// True if the field should never be cleared.
+	//
+	// This is set to true if and only if the field is annotated with `sdk:"keep"`.
+	keep bool
+
 	// The empty value for the field.
 	emptyValue reflect.Value
 
@@ -2236,6 +2241,8 @@
 			}
 		}
 
+		keep := proptools.HasTag(field, "sdk", "keep")
+
 		// Save a copy of the field index for use in the function.
 		fieldIndex := f
 
@@ -2275,6 +2282,7 @@
 				name,
 				filter,
 				fieldGetter,
+				keep,
 				reflect.Zero(field.Type),
 				proptools.HasTag(field, "android", "arch_variant"),
 			}
@@ -2394,11 +2402,13 @@
 		if commonValue != nil {
 			emptyValue := property.emptyValue
 			fieldGetter(commonStructValue).Set(*commonValue)
-			for i := 0; i < sliceValue.Len(); i++ {
-				container := sliceValue.Index(i).Interface().(propertiesContainer)
-				itemValue := reflect.ValueOf(container.optimizableProperties())
-				fieldValue := fieldGetter(itemValue)
-				fieldValue.Set(emptyValue)
+			if !property.keep {
+				for i := 0; i < sliceValue.Len(); i++ {
+					container := sliceValue.Index(i).Interface().(propertiesContainer)
+					itemValue := reflect.ValueOf(container.optimizableProperties())
+					fieldValue := fieldGetter(itemValue)
+					fieldValue.Set(emptyValue)
+				}
 			}
 		}