Abstract
A new functional equation satisfied by the commuting row-to-row transfer matrices is derived for the eight-vertex model. Functional equations of the same form are satisfied by hard hexagons, magnetic hard squares, the self-dual Potts models, the Andrews-Baxter-Forrester models, and others. These new functional equations are called inversion identities because they generalize the inversion relation for local transfer matrices. It is conjectured that all solvable models satisfying Yang-Baxter equations possess such inversion identities and that, in general, these functional equations can be solved for the transfer-matrix eigenvalues.