diff --git a/common.bazelrc b/common.bazelrc
index 7527832ae2e5..957d7363c20b 100644
--- a/common.bazelrc
+++ b/common.bazelrc
@@ -171,4 +171,10 @@ common --per_file_copt=external/.*grpc.*@--GRPC_WAS_NOT_SUPPOSED_TO_BE_BUILT
 common --host_per_file_copt=external/.*grpc.*@--GRPC_WAS_NOT_SUPPOSED_TO_BE_BUILT
 
 # need to use Python from rules_python in rules_pkg in pkg_zip target
-common --@rules_python//python/config_settings:bootstrap_impl=script
\ No newline at end of file
+common --@rules_python//python/config_settings:bootstrap_impl=script
+
+# Retry downloads up to 5 times
+common --experimental_repository_downloader_retries=5
+
+# Scale HTTP timeouts by 2x
+common --http_timeout_scaling=2.0