diff --git a/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue302.txt b/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue302.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..835b558
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue302.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+cue trim foo.cue
+cmp foo.cue rewritten
+
+-- foo.cue --
+package p
+
+foo?: Foo
+
+Foo :: "hello"
+
+-- rewritten --
+package p
+
+foo?: Foo
+
+Foo :: "hello"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue303.txt b/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue303.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca7d9b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/cue/cmd/testdata/script/issue303.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+cue trim foo.cue
+cmp foo.cue rewritten
+
+-- foo.cue --
+package example
+
+foo: c: true
+foo: M
+M :: c?: bool
+
+-- rewritten --
+package example
+
+foo: c: true
+foo: M
+M :: c?: bool
diff --git a/cmd/cue/cmd/trim.go b/cmd/cue/cmd/trim.go
index a180b09..6f6c9bf 100644
--- a/cmd/cue/cmd/trim.go
+++ b/cmd/cue/cmd/trim.go
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 
 	"cuelang.org/go/cue/format"
 	"cuelang.org/go/cue/load"
-	"cuelang.org/go/internal"
 	"cuelang.org/go/internal/diff"
 	"cuelang.org/go/tools/trim"
 )
@@ -94,16 +93,6 @@
 }
 
 func runTrim(cmd *Command, args []string) error {
-	// TODO: Do something more fine-grained. Optional fields are mostly not
-	// useful to consider as an optional field will almost never subsume
-	// another value. However, an optional field may subsume and therefore
-	// trigger the removal of another optional field.
-	// For now this is the better approach: trimming is not 100% accurate,
-	// and optional fields are just more likely to cause edge cases that may
-	// block a removal.
-	internal.DropOptional = true
-	defer func() { internal.DropOptional = false }()
-
 	binst := loadFromArgs(cmd, args, defaultConfig)
 	if binst == nil {
 		return nil
diff --git a/cue/ast.go b/cue/ast.go
index b60e421..c7432c3 100644
--- a/cue/ast.go
+++ b/cue/ast.go
@@ -436,9 +436,6 @@
 			v.object.addTemplate(v.ctx(), token.NoPos, nil, template)
 
 		case *ast.BasicLit, *ast.Ident:
-			if internal.DropOptional && opt {
-				break
-			}
 			v.sel, _, _ = ast.LabelName(x)
 			if v.sel == "_" {
 				if _, ok := x.(*ast.BasicLit); ok {
diff --git a/internal/internal.go b/internal/internal.go
index 2e73e88..ae44dd5 100644
--- a/internal/internal.go
+++ b/internal/internal.go
@@ -65,10 +65,6 @@
 // The returned value is a cue.Value, which the caller must cast to.
 var FromGoType func(instance, x interface{}) interface{}
 
-// DropOptional is a blanket override of handling optional values during
-// compilation. TODO: should we make this a build option?
-var DropOptional bool
-
 // UnifyBuiltin returns the given Value unified with the given builtin template.
 var UnifyBuiltin func(v interface{}, kind string) interface{}
 
diff --git a/tools/trim/trim.go b/tools/trim/trim.go
index 7c632c8..45110f4 100644
--- a/tools/trim/trim.go
+++ b/tools/trim/trim.go
@@ -84,9 +84,6 @@
 // Trimming is done on a best-effort basis and only when the removed field
 // is clearly implied by another field, rather than equal sibling fields.
 func Files(files []*ast.File, inst *cue.Instance, cfg *Config) error {
-	internal.DropOptional = true
-	defer func() { internal.DropOptional = false }()
-
 	gen := newTrimSet(cfg)
 	gen.files = files
 	for _, f := range files {
diff --git a/tools/trim/trim_test.go b/tools/trim/trim_test.go
index 95c0289..7b4587e 100644
--- a/tools/trim/trim_test.go
+++ b/tools/trim/trim_test.go
@@ -102,6 +102,17 @@
 		out: `[_]: x: "hello"
 a: {}
 `,
+	}, {
+		name: "issue303",
+		in: `
+		foo: c: true
+		foo: M
+		M :: c?: bool
+		`,
+		out: `foo: c: true
+foo: M
+M :: c?: bool
+`,
 		// TODO: This used to work.
 		// 	name: "remove implied interpolations",
 		// 	in: `