In his capacity as Undersecretary General for Integration, Economic and Foreign Trade Affairs (1998-2002), he was responsible for all bilateral, plurilateral, bi-regional and multilateral trade negotiations in Brazil and Mercosur. Appointed in 2002 as Permanent Representative to the European Communities, he served in Brussels for four years before serving as Consul General in New York (2005-2008) and Los Angeles (2008-2012).

Between 2014 and 2016 he was also Under Secretary General for Policy II (Asia and the Pacific) and, as such, Sherpa of BRICS and focal point of IBSA. Professor of International Economic Organizations at the Rio Branco Institute between 2013 and 2016, he chaired the examining board of the IRBr High Studies Course from 2016 to 2019. Ambassador Graça Lima served on four WTO panels, three of which as Chair, and served as an arbitrator for the WTO Provisional Appellate Body between 2020 and 2025.